Rep. Axne Receives First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine

Today, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) received her first round dose of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine while pledging to make speedy and equitable vaccine distribution her top priority in 2021.

"In order to allow for the continuity of government, the House Attending Physician -- my doctor while I am serving in Washington ­-- advised me to receive this dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Today, I received the first of two rounds of vaccination to demonstrate to Iowans that this shot is safe -- and to set an example by following the advice of my doctor," said Rep. Axne. "When your doctor tells you to schedule this vaccination, you should do so. While it was impossible for me to redesignate my dose for any frontline worker or at-risk individual in Iowa, my top priority in 2021 is ensuring that doses are distributed as quickly and equitably as possible until we have defended everyone from this devastating disease."

To preserve continuity of operations in the federal government, vaccinations were reserved for the President, Vice President, the President-elect and Vice President-elect, and Members of Congress.

Rep. Axne received the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. She will receive her second dose in approximately three weeks.

Prior to receiving the vaccination, Rep. Axne expressed concern for reports of delays in vaccine distribution and allocation.

"This is a critical moment in our battle against this virus -- where we have developed the weapons to fight back but need our citizens, health care providers, and all levels of government to work together to arm ourselves and defeat COVID-19," said Rep. Axne. "Reports from Iowa and across the country of missed vaccination targets and delays in distribution should be the top concern of Congress. I fought to secure billions to improve and expand vaccine distribution capabilities in the bipartisan COVID-19 relief deal that was signed into law last December, and I will be working with federal, state, and local partners to ensure that funding is used to get us back on track."

The COVID-19 relief deal passed by Congress last month included $19 billion for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for manufacturing and procurement of vaccines and therapeutics, and $8.75 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to aid distribution and tracking of vaccines across state and local public health agencies.

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