Eastern Iowa Health Center scheduling coronavirus vaccines for older Iowans

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Eastern Iowa Health Center has announced a dedicated phone line for people 65 and older to call and schedule an appointment for a coronavirus vaccine.

The federally qualified health center in Cedar Rapids is offering two doses of the Moderna vaccine to qualifying older Iowans.

Anyone 65 and older can call to schedule a vaccine appointment, officials said.

Appointments are available this week and next week on a limited basis.

Once they've scheduled appointments for the number of vaccines they have in-house, health center officials said they will start a waiting list of patients for the next available vaccine doses.

To schedule an appointment, call (319) 730-7300 and press option 6.

If the line is busy or the call goes unanswered, leave a message. Officials said they will return calls as soon as possible.

Those who receive the first dose will be immediately scheduled for the follow-up shot at a later date.

EIHC serves patients in Linn, Benton, Iowa, Johnson and Jones counties, but appointments are not limited to residents of those counties. However, officials noted individuals will need to travel to the vaccine site twice for both doses.

'We continue to work to provide access to anyone eligible needing a vaccine. It's easy to call and make an appointment,” EIHC Chief Operations Officer Elly Steffen said in a news release.

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