CONTRIBUTED Photo Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses are prepared for members of the community 12 years and up, Wednesday at a clinic outside the Washington School for Girls in southeast Washington.

The action of Gov. Kim Reynolds signing a law banning mask requirements in schools left Marshall County Public Health Nurse Pat Thompson with a feeling of surprise.

“I did not know that was coming,” he said. “Now it’s a law. No one expected that. I certainly did not expect it.”

Even though school districts cannot require masks, they can recommend students and staff wear them, which is what the Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) is doing. Thompson is confident the district and the people in the county will make good choices.

“I was happily surprised to walk around today and see people wearing masks,” she said.

Thompson is not going to be surprised if businesses follow suit in relaxing mask requirements. Some, such as Aldi, Hy-Vee, Menards, Starbucks, Walgreens and Walmart have already dropped mask requirements for fully vaccinated people.

The move by the state and the relaxation of mask policies by the Centers for Disease Control is a reaction to the vaccine effort. In Iowa alone, 2.5 million doses have been administered to residents. The Iowa Department of Public Health website reports 2,330 people in Marshall County have initiated the first shot of a two-dose series, 13,619 residents have completed the vaccine series and 2,251 opted for the single dose Johnson & Johnson.

The rate of vaccines being administered has also created a decrease of vaccine requests. Thompson said only 11 people called her this week to request the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. When enough people request it, she holds a clinic at the Marshalltown Public Library. The other vaccine type residents are requesting is Pfizer, which is a two-dose series.

“I think they want that one because it is approved for kids age 12 and older,” Thompson said. “Moderna is not approved for kids yet.”

In fact, Thompson rejected an offer of 500 Moderna doses this week.

“I know the school is giving Pfizer in the school and they have a couple clinics going on because parents have been asking for it,” she said.

The MCSD is providing vaccine clinics for students older than 12, not only for their own, but also for surrounding districts and Thompson hopes that will help increase the number of vaccinated residents in Marshall County.

“If only one-third of the people have been vaccinated, that is not good if we cannot keep the 6 foot distance,” Thompson said.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health COVID-19 website, there have been 5,212 cases of the COVID-19 virus within Marshall County, and 75 deaths. The death number has stayed the same for the last three weeks.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.