(Radio Iowa) – State health officials say COVID-19 vaccinations will start Monday (Dec 28th) for residents and staff of Iowa’s long-term care facilities, while several thousand Iowa health care workers have already gotten the first round of shots. Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, says the -next- phase of vaccinations will target Iowans 75 and older and front-line essential workers, including first responders, teachers and workers in food and ag-related manufacturing. Garcia says they’re laying out a third phase of recipients as well.

(As said: Adults 65-74 and individuals 16-64 with high risk conditions)

The first shipments of the Moderna vaccine began arriving in Iowa yesterday (Monday) and Governor Kim Reynolds says they’re being distributed in all 99 counties. Already, more than 84-hundred health care workers have been inoculated against COVID-19 with the first vaccine round from Pfizer.