Nearly 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Iowa

CORONAVIRUS-RELATED DEATHS. MORE THAN 5,000 HAPPENED IN IOWA. IOWA’S LONG-TERM CARE CENTERS WERE HIT HARD WHEN COVID-19 ENTERED IOWA LAST YEAR. WHILE THE NUMBER OF CASES AND DEATHS ARE DECLINING, THE LOSS STILL ECHOES. KCCI’S TOMMIE CLARK IS LIVE AT ARBOR SPRINGS IN WEST DES MOINES. TOMMIE, YOU SPOKE WITH STAFF WHO EXPERIENCED THE TRAGEDIES OF 2020 FIRSTHAND. TOMMIE: THEY DID. THE ALZHEIMER’S AND DEMENTIA CARE FACILITY HERE REALLY WENT TO THE THICK OF IT ONE YEAR AGO, LIKE SO MANY NURSING HOMES. THEY SAY NOW, THEY ARE DOING MUCH BETTER. THEY SAY EVERYONE IS VACCINATED AND THEY CAN FEEL THE HOPE UNDER THEIR ROOF. BUT OF COURSE, THEY ARE STILL COPING WITH THE EXTREME LOSS. OUTBREAKS INSIDE NURSING HOMES KILLED THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS AND MAKE UP FOR NEARLY HALF OF ALL OF COVID-19 DEATHS IN THE STATE OF IOWA. FOR ONE YEAR NOW, KCCI HAS BEEN COVERING THE CHANGES…