Gov. Reynolds talks with State Representative Ann Meyer of Fort Dodge (center) and Webster County Public Health Director Kari Prescott.
Governor Kim Reynolds visited the COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Fort Dodge over the weekend, in order to see first-hand the new techniques being put into practice.
The clinic was put on by the Webster County Public Health Department and the governor said she was impressed with the event’s execution.
“The organization, the collaboration, the coordination, the way that people come in, the way they have the pods set up, they never have to leave their chair,” Reynolds says. “My take-away is, they have the capacity to do more. They’re willing to do more. They just need the vaccines.”
While Iowa is experiencing a vaccine shortage, Reynolds feels the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine could help alleviate that. “We’re seeing our doses increase every week and the administration has guaranteed that we will get the same amount,” she says. “I don’t think we’ll get any Johnson & Johnson this week to the state but they’re hoping the following week, we’ll be able to start to ramp that up again. That is a game-changer just because it’s a single dose.”
The governor says the Webster County clinics are the blueprint the rest of the state could follow.”I think it is a great model of what other areas can do and it’s honestly one of the reasons I’m here, is to highlight it because there’s been a lot of thought that’s gone into it and they’ve done a great job,” she says. “We need to recognize that and incentivize that by allocating more vaccine to areas that have demonstrated that they can do it.”
An average of 90 people every 30 minutes have been vaccinated at the Webster County clinics.
(By Rob Jones, KVFD, Fort Dodge)