February 24, 2021

Manchin Questions Veterans Affairs Officials On COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution For Veterans

Video of Senator Manchin during the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Hearing On Vaccines For Veterans can be found here

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC), questioned a panel of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials on working with rural states to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and ensuring doses are not wasted, how the recent weather conditions affected the supply and distribution of the vaccine and how the VA is communicating and providing information to Veterans, especially in rural communities.

“I come from the beautiful state of West Virginia, very patriotic with a lot of Veterans and I imagine when the vaccines are approved, some of them will need specific storage temperatures and I would hope you all will take into consideration that in some of the smaller, rural areas don’t have the ability to handle that. So when you’re deciding what vaccine is going to go to what area, will you make sure that it’s matched up with the capabilities of the provider handling the vaccine so it doesn’t spoil and is not wasted?” said Senator Manchin in part.

Senator Manchin has been working with the Biden Administration, as well as local and state governments to quickly procure COVID-19 vaccines and ensure that every West Virginian that wants a vaccine can receive one, especially Veterans.

A video of Senator Manchin’s questioning of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Witnesses can be found here.