Today’s NewsStand

Today’s NewsStand

By Iowa Hospital Association|
|April 28, 2021

Iowa news

Iowa vaccine resistance persists, 80 counties decline doses

Iowa health officials said Tuesday that 80 of the state’s 99 counties declined some or all of their COVID-19 vaccine doses for next week, showing that demand for immunizations is dropping dramatically. Iowa had fully vaccinated just over 1 million people as of Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is 32% of the population and is the 14th highest vaccination rate in the nation. CDC data shows that 43% of Iowans have had at least one vaccine dose, which offers at least some protection. (Associated Press)

Editorial: Iowans must step up pressure on those who refuse COVID-19 vaccinations

Vaccines protecting against COVID-19 are safe, effective and the best hope of ending this pandemic. Yet about 1 million Iowans eligible for the shots have not received one. That is not because of a shortage of vaccine or a lack of places to get jabbed. Every eligible Iowan who wants a shot can get one, but some apparently aren’t clamoring for one. (Des Moines Register)

UIHC part of campaign to urge more vaccinations

The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics are joining a nationwide campaign with 60 other health care providers to encourage more people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The campaign will specifically target groups who have higher hesitancy rates, like certain ethnic minority groups and those living in rural areas. Mike Brownlee, chief pharmacy officer with UIHC, says they’re looking at new ways to reach out to patients about the vaccine. (Radio Iowa)

 

National news

CDC: If you’re vaccinated, you don’t need to mask outdoors (unless you’re in a crowd)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask when they’re outdoors unless they’re in a crowd, such as attending a live performance, sporting event or parade. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after the single dose of the Johnson and Johnson shot. (Iowa Public Radio)

A Texas hospital system will require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine and could fire them if they don’t comply

A hospital system in Houston is requiring all employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, making it one of the first major hospital systems in the US to mandate vaccination among employees and move to fire them if they don’t comply. Houston Methodist, a network of eight hospitals that has 26,000 employees, said it will require every employee to provide proof of vaccination by June 7. If employees aren’t vaccinated before the June deadline, they’ll be suspended, without pay, for two weeks. If they’re not vaccinated within that suspension period, the company will “initiate the employee termination process,” according to the company’s new HR policy, implemented this month. (CNN)

Did emergency paycheck protection program loans work? Nearly $800 billion later, we still don’t know

The Paycheck Protection Program, first passed early in the pandemic as part of the CARES Act, was meant to provide loans to help small-business owners keep workers on the payroll. Businesses wouldn’t have to pay the money back as long as they used most of the loan proceeds to pay staff. But despite plenty of success stories, there’s little consensus on how many paychecks it protected, a question that lingers as the program is due to wind down in coming weeks after it depletes its funds. The program, after several extensions passed by Congress, guaranteed more than 10 million loans to small businesses during the pandemic at a cost of more than $770 billion so far. (Iowa Public Radio)

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