(Radio Iowa) – Students will be heading back to school across the state soon — and Governor Kim Reynolds says she hopes the school year will be fairly normal despite COVID-19. “We absolutely do, we have to learn to live with that, with this, we can do it safely and responsibly. It’s slowed a little bit, but we are in a pretty good place. Our vaccination rates continue to increase,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds says the vaccination rate is at 62 percent for Iowans and 66 percent for the same group that has had at least had one single dose. The governor says there’s some encouraging news too for younger Iowans. She says she just learned that 13 to 81-year-olds are at 57 percent for being fully vaccinated. “So, we are seeing the numbers move in the right direction,” she says.

Reynolds says the whole COVID picture should include more than vaccination numbers. “There’s a natural immunity when you have COVID-19, and that should be a part of the narrative, and so I’ve asked them to run those numbers. And let’s take a look at what that looks like in addition to those who have already been vaccinated as well,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds says the vaccine will be available at the Iowa State Fair, and the state is continuing to work with communities to provide them vaccines.