IOWA, USA — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds held a COVID-19 press conference Thursday.
Starting Feb. 1, the state will move into Phase 1B which includes five tiers of vaccinations. Notably, the phase has been adapted to include Iowans 65-years-old and above which includes about 500,000 residents.
In early February the state will begin allocating vaccines based on the tiers.
Tier 1: Early childhood education staff, childcare workers and first responders.
Tier 2: Frontline essential workers, individuals with disabilities.
Tier 3: Staff and individuals living in congregate settings, government officials and staff.
Tier 4: Inspectors.
Tier 5: Correctional facility staff and those incarcerated.
Reynolds noted the state is ranked 46th in the country for vaccine allocations but ranks 15th for administrating those vaccines.
Iowa, Reynolds said, is allocated 19,500 vaccines each week.
Watch the press conference here:
Notable updates on the state of the pandemic in Iowa:
The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus in the state dipped below 500 for the first time since October Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021.
In her Condition of the State address last week, Reynolds proposed requiring all schools to offer parents the option of sending their children to the classroom full time.
An owner of a large pork production company that disproportionately benefited from an Iowa coronavirus aid program recently donated $25,000 to Gov. Kim Reynolds' campaign.