Iowa news
‘They are heroes’: MercyOne North Iowa honors health care workers
Health care workers are making tremendous sacrifices to keep people alive amid the pandemic. In the past year, they’ve put themselves and their families at risk of contracting COVID-19, and worked long hours at overwhelmed hospitals. Senior leadership at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center held a ceremony Monday to commemorate their own staff’s work. (KAAL)
Iowa mental health, local government groups voice concerns over massive tax plan
A 103-page, 26-division package that includes 13 identical House and Senate proposals is a “great compromise,” according to the bill manager, and the only path to adjournment for Iowa legislators already in their second week past the scheduled end date of the session. SSB 1276 includes $400 million in tax relief by eliminating the 2018 state income tax “triggers,” compressing brackets and reducing rates, having the state take over mental health funding from property taxpayers while phasing out the “backfill” aid to local governments, phasing out the state’s inheritance tax and exempting taxation on COVID-19 assistance. (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
MercyOne House of Mercy Game Show Gala co-chairs, teams announced
The 2021 MercyOne House of Mercy Game Show Gala will take place virtually from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. June 24. The game show portion of the event will be livestreamed and hosted by Des Moines personality Steve Berry and WOI Local 5 anchor Sabrina Ahmed. The 12th annual gala, presented by the Graham Group Inc. and produced by MercyOne Des Moines Foundation, is a fun-spirited game show-style fundraiser for MercyOne House of Mercy, one of Iowa’s largest and most comprehensive providers of behavioral health care, especially parenting women with children. (Business Record)
National news
Most unvaccinated adults don’t want the shot
Vaccine hesitancy has become the predominant mindset of Americans who have not yet been inoculated, making the drive for herd immunity ever more elusive. Just 11% of American adults who remain unvaccinated for COVID-19 say they definitely will get the shot, while 34% say they definitely won’t, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Another 27% say they probably will and 27% say they probably won’t. (USA Today)
The FDA authorizes the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 12 to 15
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday authorized use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds in the United States, a crucial step in the nation’s steady recovery from the pandemic and a boon to tens of millions of American families eager for a return to normalcy. (The New York Times)
Biden promotes Lyft, Uber plan to provide free rides to vaccination sites
President Joe Biden announced support Tuesday for an effort by Lyft and Uber to provide free rides for people traveling to get a COVID-19 vaccine as the administration ramps up efforts to motivate the hesitant. The ride sharing companies will begin promoting the locations of vaccination centers in their apps and provide instructions for how to redeem a free ride. Although the companies have already provided free and discounted rides to some users, the new promotion will apply to anyone seeking a vaccine and begin in the next two weeks and last through July 4. (NBC News)