Good afternoon Iowa warriors

Good afternoon.

Can you please provide an update on the vaccinations that are being done by Hy-Vee? Last Friday at noon, I attempted to make an appointment for my wife who is in Priority 1B. I checked multiple Hy-Vee store locations throughout the metro area. None of them gave the message about vaccines NOT being available, but also NONE of them had an active link to click on to schedule an appointment. I called one of the pharmacies and was told by a staff member that a decision had been made to hold all of their shots for those needing the SECOND dose. I can see the practicality of doing this, but if eligible people won't be able to make appointments for the first dose at Hy-Vee locations, the public needs to know this so that they don't waste time on the Hy-Vee sites and miss opportunities at the Polk County Health Department site.

Hi AJ, I need some info on the parameters Polk County Health uses to distribute the covid vaccine. For example, what factors determine who gets the doses, how many doses they get, etc. Can Hospitals like Unity Point use its vaccines for places like Dowling HS. Is that something Helen Eddy can speak about?

With the Johnson & Johnson vaccine being less effective, are we expecting it to be recommended more for persons without preexisting conditions?

Robert Goldhammer -- please email cgayman@hy-vee.com for updates on Hy-Vee's vaccination services in Polk County.

Todd Magel, thanks for that question. I am trying to understand how K-12 schools seem to be getting vaccinations brought to their location instead of having everyone compete with the web reservation systems that everyone is being directed to.

I should note the web systems that seem to give frequent error messages like I encountered Friday at Noon trying to do a reservations.

Hello- Thank you for all the great information. Are all positive test being tested for the variants?

hard to hear

What is the expectation for how long a pharmacy partner has to administer their allotted doses?

The speaker is VERY quiet

To date, it seems only private school Dowling which had an inside track to vaccinations,; not public schools.

When is Tier 2 for phase 1b going to become available?

Are you surprised that Dowling seems to have an inside track?

Are dispensing partners being asked to direct their supplies towards any specific subgroups within the eligible populations using specific strategies? Example—UnityPoint cancelled February appointments made by school staff, citing need to be 65+ to receive vaccine in their clinic. When their partnership for a Friday clinic with Dowling/parochial schools hit social media yesterday, it generated a lot of negative feelings among public school staff.

My question is that if 1b Tier1 people are all eligible, how are we now hearing priorities inside that are being done?

Is is possible to create a dashboard for where the doses are being allocated, when, and how quickly those doses are being used? I think this transparency is absolutely essential to avoid situations like the Dowling issues.

You reported Polk County received approx. 7000 doses this week for the start of phase 1B. Has there been any effort to subdivide that out in a specific way (e.g. ¼ for 2nd doses, ½ for 65+, ¼ for 1B tier 1—1st responders/teachers)? Hoping for more transparency given large #s in this group.

Can UnityPoint explain how it decided Dowling would be the first school in the county to have its staff vaccinated?

Pretty sure they can.

Will tier 2 be opened before all residents over 65 have been able to receive their first dose?

Or ALL people in Tier 1.

The national numbers indicated that vaccines are going to whites and women more than Blacks and Hispanics, despite the fact that Blacks and Hispanics are more adversely affected by COVID and make up more of the essential work force. How is PCHD tracking demographics of who receives vaccine and is it adjusting its dispensing strategies/partnerships to create more equity in vaccine access?

The public will continue to make multiple appointments because we are creating a scheduling frenzy. There is no clear communication across providers and asking people to click 45 different links is not acceptable. Please consider 1 dashboard: every provider listed, how many doses they have, when their appts are full, and when they are slated to get their next doses. Do we agree that asking 94 providers to update a dashboard is easier than 300,000 people clicking 45 clinks?

Can you please explain if managers at a essential manufacturer will be included in vaccines

Is there any consistent process in place for people to more easily access appointments for 2nd doses?--Hy-Vee and Medicap since you have addressed PCHD

With additional vaccine manufacturers coming soon to the pipeline - I.E> Johnson and Johnson, Novavax and AstraZeneca, does the county even have the capability to store and distribute the amount of vaccine doses that those 3 manufacturers anticipate on supplying on top of Pfizer and Moderna distribute.

Should a person who has been vaccinated still quarantine if exposed to COVID from a family member in the same household. What should be the procedure to safely return this employee to work so they don't expose others?

Thank you!

Is Polk County working with the Legislature to administer vaccines to legislators and other state officials once they become eligible?

Thank you all for your hard work, it's an impossible situation.

To clarify- can Unity Point patient receive vaccine through their Unity Point clinics if they are in tier Ib- regardless of age?

Are you able to share any of the written materials or talking points you are using to target the minorities communities?

Deb is cutting out and I cannot understand what she said about Hy-Vee or Medicap 2nd appointment scheduling?

Can't hear

she's cutting in and out

She is cutting in and out very badly.

With tracking of vaccinated Iowans, does that take into consideration those of us vaccinated through the Central Iowa VA

The VA told me they don't report to the state's IRIS system.

Thank you for all you are doing!