IOWA CITY, Iowa - University of Iowa Health Care is joining a national campaign to motivate more people to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
It's targeting groups that are more resistant to getting vaccinated, such as rural and young people, who could delay the country from reaching herd immunity.
University of Iowa Health Care is joining major medical outlets like the Mayo and Cleveland Clinics to offer print, digital, social media and a website to encourage vaccinations.
The number of Iowa counties now turning down some or all their vaccine allotment has nearly doubled to include 80 of the 99 counties.
Some larger counties such as Polk, Linn, Johnson, Dubuque and Story are still receiving their doses while Scott and Black Hawk counties are declining their allotments.
Last week, the 43 counties turning down vaccines were in rural areas predominantly in the northwest part of the state.
Numbers from the Centers for Disease Control show well over half (55.6 percent) of Iowan adults have received one dose of a vaccine while 41 percent are fully vaccinated.
Vaccine shots given to people peaked in early April and have fallen off in the weeks since then.
The state asked vaccine providers to immediately resume giving out Johnson & Johnson doses Friday after the federal government lifted a pause on their delivery.
The pause was recommended after reports of six cases of a rare blood clot were reported in women under age 50 who had received the J & J vaccine.
The following Iowa 80 counties denied some or all of their allocation for the week of May 2nd: Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clay, Clayton, Clinton, Crawford, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Delaware, Des Moines, Dickinson, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Humboldt, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jones, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lee, Louisa, Lucas, Lyon, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Monroe, Montgomery, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Sioux, Tama, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Wayne, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, and Wright.