Today’s NewsStand

Today’s NewsStand

By Iowa Hospital Association|
|March 12, 2021

Iowa news

Polk County to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to people 16-64 with health conditions starting March 15

Polk County will expand coronavirus vaccinations next week to include people ages 16 to 64 with a wide range of health conditions, the county’s health department announced Thursday. State officials announced March 4 that counties could make that move starting this week, if they had enough vaccine available. Polk County did not immediately do so, because its health leaders said they still were working to vaccinate seniors, school staffers and members of other groups that were previously eligible. Polk County Health Department Director Helen Eddy said Thursday that her agency now believes it has enough vaccine to expand eligibility Monday, March 15. (Des Moines Register)

NAMI Greater Des Moines cuts ties with state, national organization, announces new name

The Greater Des Moines affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NMAI) has ended its affiliation with NAMI Iowa and the national NAMI organization, in a move the former local affiliate’s leaders say will better enable the local organization to serve and represent Greater Des Moines communities. Michele Keenan, who has led NAMI Greater Des Moines as its first full-time executive director since July 2016, will continue as executive director of the newly incorporated organization, MindSpring Mental Health Alliance. The group’s leadership, staff, volunteers, membership and programs it has developed outside of NAMI’s programs will largely remain the same, Keenan said. (Business Record)

‘People really don’t want to listen to me:’ Health care workers reflect on one year with COVID-19

A year into the pandemic, COVID-19 has put an enormous strain on Iowa’s health care system, from the influxes of COVID patients to staffing shortages and budget crunches. Iowa hospitals and health care workers reflect on living with COVID-19 a year in. (Iowa Public Radio)

National news

‘Be prudent a bit longer’: Health officials stress importance of COVID-19 precautions ahead of spring break

Health officials are urging people to maintain COVID-19 precautions in hopes of preventing another surge in cases ahead of spring break. The potential spread of more transmissible variants, such as the B.1.1.7 or U.K. variant, is the main cause of concern. (Becker’s Hospital Review)

President Biden directs states to make all adult Americans eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine by May 1

President Biden on Thursday evening directed states to make all adult Americans eligible to receive coronavirus vaccines no later than May 1, using a somber but hopeful prime-time address to the nation to say Americans may be able to “mark our independence from this virus” by the Fourth of July. (The New York Times)

Kids’ mental health is still pediatricians’ greatest concern, one year into pandemic

Pediatricians and adolescent health experts have cautioned for months that the uncertainty and anxiety spurred by the pandemic, coupled with the lack of social contact, may have lasting effects on the mental health of children and teens, though they are significantly less likely than adults to experience serious physical illness from COVID-19. (Omaha World-Herald)

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