The Iowa Department of Public Health and Safety said the state asked the federal government to withhold 71% of the 105,300 COVID-19 vaccine doses for the week of May 10 because demand remains weak, the Associated Press reported.
This is the second week in a row that the state has asked the federal government to hold back part of its allocation of vaccine doses.
It's an increase from the 80 counties that declined vaccine shipments for this week and the 43 counties that declined all or part of their allocations last week.
"As we have shared before, these counties are doing exactly the right thing by only accepting the volume of vaccine that they can confidently administer," Iowa Department of Public Health and Safety spokeswoman Sarah Ekstrand told the Des Moines Register.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
The Iowa Department of Public Health and Safety said the state asked the federal government to withhold 71% of the 105,300 COVID-19 vaccine doses for the week of May 10 because demand remains weak. The...The Iowa Department of Public Health and Safety said the state asked the federal government to withhold 71% of the 105,300 COVID-19 vaccine doses for the week of May 10 because demand remains weak. The photo is of the Iowa State Capitol building in Des Moines.Joe Raedle/Getty Images/GettyEkstrand said that 88 of the 99 counties in Iowa said they do not need all of their weekly vaccines allocated to them.
In Iowa, 56.5% of adults that have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine as of Saturday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In early April, Iowa set a record of 51,322 shots administered in one day compared to last week's highest daily total of 23,159.
More than 105 million Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Newsweek, in partnership with NewsGuard, is dedicated to providing accurate and verifiable vaccine and health information. With NewsGuard's HealthGuard browser extension, users can verify if a website is a trustworthy source of health information. Visit the Newsweek VaxFacts website to learn more and to download the HealthGuard browser extension.
Read more
Powerball Numbers For 05/01/21, Saturday Jackpot was $129 Million
64 Adverse Reactions to J&J COVID Vaccine Brought on By Anxiety, CDC Says
Iowa Man Accused of Threatening Governor Says He Was Giving His 'Opinion'
Iowa's New Law Marked 400 17-Year-Olds 'Inactive' for Not Voting in 2020
