Governor Kim Reynolds says the state has made good progress on Covid vaccinations and she has no plan to offer the kind of incentives other states are trying — like college scholarships and lottery prizes — to encourage more people to get vaccinated.
“I’m not going to do a lottery,” Reynolds said earlier today in Lake View. “We’re still doing everything we can. We are working with every venue we can.”
Reynolds pointed to pop-up clinics at farmers markets, Iowa Cubs baseball games and the Iowa Barnstormers indoor football games. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about six out of 10 adults in Iowa have had at least one Covid shot. Among Iowans 65 and older, the vaccination rate is 86%.
“I am really happy with where we’re at,” Reynolds told reporters after a bill-signing ceremony staged at a state park. “If you go to the website and look at the states, we’re doing really well.”
Vermont has the nation’s highest percentage of its population fully vaccinated against Covid. Iowa ranks 19th, with nearly 44% of residents fully vaccinated.
(Additional reporting in Lake View by Nathan Konz, KCIM, Carroll)