DES MOINES, Iowa — It's a trend not unique to Iowa: vaccine supply is now outpacing the demand for the shots.
For the week of May 3, 80 Iowa county public health departments declined some or all of their coronavirus vaccines allotted to their counties.
Last week, Gov. Kim Reynolds pleaded with Iowans resistant to getting the vaccine to assess their hesitancy, gaining her national attention. She used the head of the Iowa National Guard to appeal to even more Iowans.
The list of counties deferring the vaccine was 43 last week, and a majority of the counties were in the northern part of the state. This week, the counties are all over.
A spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health said the department is now "working with our local partners and community leaders to determine where additional education is needed and to gain an understanding of the needs of each county's unique population."
Local 5 heard this same sentiment from the head of the Hamilton County Health Department, who said she's seeing vaccine hesitancy because of a language barrier in her community.
IDPH officials said they hope the lifting of the pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from federal officials last week will help open up more Iowans to the vaccine, especially those who prefer a one-dose shot.
"We want to vaccinate as many Iowans as possible while doing everything we can to avoid vaccines sitting on shelves," said IDPH spokeswoman Sarah Ekstrand.
The list of counties declining some or all of their doses this week include:
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, Wright