Comment on University of Iowa starts taking names for community vaccination

IOWA CITY — University of Iowa Health Care on Monday morning officially began collecting names of community members wanting a COVID-19 vaccine — propelling the hospital system into its next vaccination phase after the campus, following state guidance, vaccinated its thousands of hospital and clinic employees. The campus is keeping back enough vaccine to ensure all its workers receive the two required doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.But UIHC last month received permission from the Iowa Department of Public Health to start administering community doses in February.Community members, as of Monday, can sign up for the vaccine doses via the MyChart electronic medical record system or through a website portal for those who don’t use MyChart.“Once you complete the form, please do not call us,” according to instructions on the UIHC COVID vaccine website “When you are eligible, according to the state’s criteria, and we have vaccine doses available, we’ll contact you via MyChart or by phone to schedule your appointment.”The state’s top priority group — who’ve been getting vaccine since mid-December — includes health care workers and those in long-term care facilities.