Ernst Presses Military to Ensure Equitable Vaccine Allocations for Iowans

WASHINGTON—At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today on the Department of Defense’s support to the COVID-19 response, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) pressed military leaders on the federal government’s process to allocate vaccines to the states. Ernst asked General Gustave Perna, Chief Operating Officer of the Federal COVID-19 Response for Vaccine and Therapeutics, to ensure that allocation of the vaccine is based on a set formula and is not influenced by external factors. Ernst’s questioning builds on a letter she sent with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to publicly release its weekly formula for allocating vaccines to states and other jurisdictions.