(Radio Iowa) – An infectious disease specialist in Fort Dodge says to hit the goal of herd immunity against Covid, vaccination rates must increase in Iowa and Dr. Megan Srinivas says creativity may be the key. “We’ve seen that incentive systems do work,” Srinivas says. “We saw in New Orleans that just having people who were willing to vaccinate during the time when people were going out at night and saying: ‘Hey, this bar is partnering with us. We’ll give you a free drink if you get your Johnson & Johnson one shot vaccine,’ was extremely effective.”

A chance to win a million dollar lottery prize has significantly boosted the Covid vaccination rate in Ohio. Dr. Leyla Best, an infectious disease specialist with UnityPoint, says one-on-one discussions with patients are key to addressing myths about the vaccines. “I always like to take the opportunity when I see patients in my clinics…to talk about, ‘Have you been vaccinated?'” Best says. “And without pushing — I’m not pushing or making people get the vaccine — I want to understand what their fears are.”

Best says this has been a difficult year for everyone and it’s important for physicians to be available for their patients to answer questions. About 43 percent of Iowans are fully vaccinated. Both Best and Srinivas specialize in health care outreach to rural areas. The two doctors made their comments during a recent appearance on Iowa Public Television.

(Radio Iowa) University of Iowa researchers are sending out surveys to randomly-selected Latino households in nine Iowa counties with significant Latino populations to gauge the long-term impact of COVID-19 on that segment of the population. Miriam Velez-Bermudez is one of the U-I doctoral students leading the study. She says the findings will be sent to organizations throughout the state to help public health responses in the future. “We can’t address those needs if we’re not able to assess them,” Velez-Bermudez says. “So, this is sort of the first step in knowing what needs there are, so it can inform public health measures moving forward.”

The surveys come with a five-dollar incentive. The researchers hope to have enough data to analyze by early summer. U-I researcher Crystal Garcia says she’s starting to receive feedback and the responses will help the team figure out what effect the virus is having on Latinos in the state. “We don’t really have a good sense of what those long-term impacts might be,” Garcia says. “We’ve heard food security, mental health, but really quantifying what that looks like.”

Other organizations have tried to find that data in the past, but their efforts hit obstacles. Garcia says with their research, “disappearing is not an option.”

(By Kassidy Arena, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – The pandemic has put extreme pressure on Iowa’s food pantries and soup kitchens and there’s no sign of it letting up as families continue to struggle. Michelle Book, president and C-E-O for the Food Bank of Iowa, says a COVID-19 vaccination won’t cure poverty in Iowa. “Before COVID, food insecurity was hovering right around 10%. COVID struck, and immediately, the demand doubled,” Book says. “We have seen things leveling off but still higher than pre-recession levels.”

In the past month, Barilla donated more than eight truckloads of pasta to the Food Bank, the equivalent of 166-thousand plates of pasta. Even with that generous donation, Book says there’s a constant demand for more food and more funds. “One in six Iowans and 20-percent of our kids, one in five Iowa children, suffers from food insecurity,” Book says. “We don’t expect those levels to decrease to pre-COVID levels for the next year or two.”

The Food Bank of Iowa rescues safe, edible food which would otherwise clog landfills and gets it quickly to food insecure Iowans through an established network of 650 smaller front-line, hands-on partners. Still, she says, the need is persistent, especially with the pandemic continuing to loom. “Folks that were already struggling with poverty or were hovering right there on the precipice of not being able to make ends meet,” Book says, “those folks are going to have a tough time for months and perhaps years to come.” Across Iowa’s 99 counties, 324 grants totaling more than three-point-four million dollars were awarded to Feeding America partner pantries and feeding sites. The money is being used to mitigate additional costs to front-line food assistance providers who stepped up to respond to unusually high demand during COVID.

On the web: www.foodbankiowa.org

The Creston Police Department reports the arrest on May 28th, of 29-year-old Amanda Steinbach. The Creston woman was taken into custody at her residence, on charges that include Driving While Barred, and Possession of a Controlled Substance 1st Offense, the bond for which $3,000. She was also being held on a Union County Warrant for Failure to Serve Jail her Sentence, on original charges of Burglary 2nd degree amended to Accessory After the Fact, and Violation of Probation. Steinbach was being held without bond on those charges, with the balance of her sentence to be served before she’s released.

At around 2:50-a.m. Saturday, Creston Police arrested 42-year-old Brady Richert, of Creston, on the charge of OWI 2nd Offense. He was released from the Union County Jail on a $2000 bond. And, Monday afternoon, 33-year-old Robert Johnson, of Banning, CA, was cited in Creston and subsequently released, on a Summons to Appear, on a charge of Theft in the 5th Degree for an incident that occurred at the Dollar General Store in Creston, on May 29th.