(Des Moines, IA) -- Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says while 53-percent of Iowa adults have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine, health officials are concerned about young adults and middle age adults lagging behind other adults.
She says 50-percent of Iowans 18-to-39 plan to "wait and see" before getting the vaccine. Twenty-eight percent of 40-to-59 year old residents are expressing a hesitancy. Officials across the country have been concerned that the halting of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, due to a very rare blood complication, is discouraging some from getting the vaccine.
Iowa health officials say they're hearing similar concerns in Iowa. Reynolds was asked about a media poll finding conservative Republicans are vaccine-hesitant for a variety of reasons. Reynolds says it's more likely an age issue, noting young healthy adults may not feel as threatened by the virus as older adults.
She says the age security issue is one reason why the state is supporting vaccinations college campuses. Many of those clinics have been able to switch from the J & J vaccine to Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead.
Reynolds is urging parents to encourage parents of young adults to get a vaccine as soon as the are able too.
Governor Reynolds has also announced that the statewide 2-1-1 system is being opened up to all Iowans, to assist in scheduling a vaccine.