Breaker COVID one-nine: Vaccines being distributed at Iowa truck stop

A truck stop along Iowa’s well-traveled Interstate 80 will soon get the chance to vax up while they gas up, thanks to a new initiative. 

The website Truckers News reports that the famed Iowa 80 Truckstop has partnered with Hy-Vee Pharmacy to offer long-haulers 18 and over free COVID-19 vaccines beginning Monday, May 10.

The five clinics offering both the Pfizer and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be open from 2-4 p.m. local time on that first day, then from 5-8 p.m. from May 13-16. Although walk-ins are welcome, appointments can be made on a special website.  

The news comes after a Truckers News poll noted that truckers have been resistant to get the shot: 62% of their respondents said they will not get a COVID vaccination, 28% said they would, and 10% were undecided.

While millions of Americans have been working from home during the pandemic, truckers, who have no such option, have been essential to keeping the country rolling.