Executive Director of Iowa Public Health Association and HealthConnect Fellow
(October 2019-June 2021)
Maintaining and building Iowa’s culture of immunization by expanding the vaccination partners advocacy network
Lina Tucker Reinders began her fellowship campaign focused on building the newly formed vaccination coalition, Iowa Immunizes, to counter Iowa’s anti-vaccination narrative. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Tucker Reinders became the go-to spokesperson to explain the pandemic and the state’s decisions through a public health lens. This brought tremendous attention to Iowa Public Health Association and increased partnerships for the immunization coalition, especially as anti-public health messages gained more traction. In 2020, 12 bills were introduced in the state legislature that could weaken Iowa’s immunization laws and/or increase vaccination hesitancy; in 2021, 20 bills were introduced.
“It often felt like we were purely in response mode,” said Tucker Reinders, “but it was always within our strategic vision.”
Tucker Reinders conducted numerous interviews with local, state, and national media outlets and published op-eds in the Des Moines Register. Legislative webinars on the safety, efficacy, and economic importance of the COVID-19 vaccine drew two-thirds of state legislators.
The Iowa Immunizes coalition grew from 16 organizations and one individual to 61 organizations and 52 individuals. The coalition now has committees focused on scientific advisory and review; communications; advocacy; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. None of the anti-vaccination bills introduced at the state legislature passed, but Tucker Reinders says more work is needed to change the narrative about vaccines. She has received invitations from funders to support the coalition and is working with national consultants on how to communicate about the issue more effectively.
