COVID-19 vaccines
Here’s why the CDC recommends wearing masks indoors even if you’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19
Vaccinated people need to mask up again, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On July 27, 2021, the CDC recommended that everyone in areas with high COVID-19 infection rates wear masks in public indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status. It’s a reversal from the CDC’s May 2021 advice that the fully […]
CDC says the vaccinated should wear masks indoors in areas with high infection rates
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials on Tuesday urged Americans in areas of the country with the highest surges in COVID-19 infections, including parts of Iowa, to once again wear masks when they are in public, indoor settings — even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The updated recommendations marked a sharp shift from the agency’s guidance in […]
GOP officials urge vaccinations but is Iowa prepared for delta variant?
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley took to Twitter last week to encourage all eligible Iowans and Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “The Delta variant scares me so I hope those that haven’t been vaccinated will reconsider,” he wrote. Ive said this to several Iowa reporters again this wk but I’ll amplify it here: I encourage […]
Nearly 60% of Iowa adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19
Nearly 60% of Iowa adults are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, the New York Times reported. A new analysis found that 58% of Iowans who are 18 years old or above were fully vaccinated, and 62% had received at least one dose of vaccine. Among those age 65 and above, 84% were fully vaccinated, and 88% […]
Iowa’s new COVID-19 cases drop by 50%
Iowa’s new COVID-19 cases dropped by 50% over the past two weeks, the New York Times reported. The state has been averaging 135 new cases a day this week. The 102 new cases reported Thursday was one of the lowest numbers since the pandemic began to take off in April 2020. Gov. Kim Reynolds and […]
Marjorie Taylor Greene comparison of mask-wearing and the Holocaust condemned by House GOP leader
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday condemned remarks by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene comparing the wearing of masks and vaccination logos to the persecution and murder of Jews by Nazis during the Holocaust. Greene, a Republican, in an interview last week with the Christian Broadcasting Network made the comparison, according to […]
Not one usable vaccine so far out of Baltimore plant with multi-million-dollar federal contract
WASHINGTON — Angry U.S. House Democrats on Wednesday had one key question as they grilled executives of a Maryland biotech manufacturer forced to dump 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine: Has there been one usable vaccine dose produced as a result of the $271 million paid to date by the U.S. government? […]
CDC: You can ditch the mask in most places, indoors and out, if fully vaccinated
WASHINGTON — Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need to wear a mask in most situations, indoors and outdoors, federal health officials said in an updated set of recommendations Thursday that marks a major turning point in the pandemic. The announcement is a shift from earlier federal guidance, which had urged people who are vaccinated to continue […]
More than one-third of Iowa’s state-employed caregivers still refusing COVID-19 vaccine
As state officials continue to encourage Iowans to be vaccinated against COVID-19, more than a third of the workers at state-run care facilities continue to refuse the vaccine. The most recently released data from the Iowa Department of Human Services shows that as of May 7, a total of 36% of state employees at the […]
CDC advisory panel signs off on Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids 12 to 15
WASHINGTON — A federal advisory panel is recommending that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine be administered to adolescents between 12 and 15 years old, making it the first shot available to those under 16. The green light granted Wednesday afternoon by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel is expected to be affirmed swiftly by […]
States offer gift cards, clinics at baseball games, worksite shots in push to increase vaccinations
WASHINGTON — Maine officials are enticing residents to get a COVID-19 vaccine by offering free fishing or hunting licenses and L.L. Bean gift cards. Ohio has the National Guard taking shots to the lobbies of senior housing facilities, so those residents need only to come downstairs. And in Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz says that if […]
FDA green lights Pfizer vaccine for kids 12-15, with CDC still to act
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday signed off on expanding the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 12 to 15, clearing one key hurdle before that age group can begin receiving the two-shot vaccine. But another step is needed before tweens and teens can line up for shots. The […]