Miller-Meeks, Iowa US Reps. push Biden administration to ramp up rural vaccinations
Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks joined her Iowa U.S. House colleagues on Monday in a letter pushing the Biden administration to use recent approval of a new single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to ramp up rural vaccination efforts.
Miller-Meeks, of Ottumwa, signed a letter with fellow Iowa U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson, Randy Feenstra, and Cindy Axne urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to utilize the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine to ramp up vaccination efforts in Iowa’s rural areas.
The new vaccine, which only requires one dose and can be stored using regular refrigeration, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday.
"As Members of Congress representing a state with many rural residents, we understand the specific challenges our rural communities face in looking to vaccinate residents efficiently and equitably," the letter states. "Prioritizing distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to rural areas would: reduce the burden on rural health care providers and county health officials; simplify the distribution and administration process; and, ensure equitable vaccine access for rural Americans."
More than 1.1 million Iowans -- or more than one-third of the state's population -- live in rural areas of the state, and a recent study showed that one in four Americans in rural areas reported having trouble accessing health care, according to a news release from Miller-Meeks' office.
"We recognize the logistical difficulties in ensuring safe vaccine distribution in rural areas – like increased transportation needs, lack of cold storage, and limited health professionals," the members wrote. "That is why we urge you to prioritize distributing the single-shot, refrigerator-stable COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson."
The members of Iowa's congressional delegation urged the new vaccine be used to supplement, and not supplant, existing allocations of doses of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines currently being distributed.
The Iowa Department of Public Health on Monday announced Iowa will receive 25,600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which will be divided among 17 counties that have "significant Phase 1B, Tier 2 populations," according to a news release.
That includes food, agriculture, distribution, and manufacturing workers who work or live in congregate settings that do not allow for social distancing, and people with disabilities living in home settings and their caregivers, according to IDPH.
Counties that will receive the first doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine include: Black Hawk, Buena Vista, Cerro Gordo, Clarke, Crawford, Dallas, Dubuque, Louisa, Marion, Marshall, Muscatine, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Sioux, Tama, and Wright.