The White House announced last week that the United States is going to fall short of President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70 percent of the population getting their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine before July 4th. 

U.S. Representative for Iowa’s 2nd District Mariannette Miller-Meeks shares her thoughts on what can be done to help get more people vaccinated, “First and foremost, having a clear message about vaccinations and vaccine safety I think is imperative. A clear message at the beginning of the year I think would have been very helpful. We had also put forth a letter and suggestion that the FDA give full authorization, complete authorization given how many of the vaccines had been distributed, but also early on that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine expand the duration between the first and the second shot. So more people could have been vaccinated with their first dose and we would be closer to that level.”

Rep. Miller-Meeks encourages everyone to get vaccinated. She warns of long-term side effects of COVID-19 and also wants people to know that the vaccine is safe to receive,“The safety protocols and the trials for this vaccine were very rigorous. There were no shortcuts taken in regards to safety. The number of people in trial far exceeded what we typically would have for approval for a drug or vaccine. They are safe and effective, it’s not hard to get a vaccine, they are readily available and the side effects of the vaccine are much less than the side effects of encountering COVID-19.”

You can hear more from Miller-Meeks during today’s part 1 interview on JJ Nichting Company In Touch with Southeast Iowa on air and at kciiradio.com.