{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-exclusion-of-west-virginia-veterans-from-initial-va-covid-19-vaccination-plan-is-unaccaptable", "Manchin: Exclusion Of West Virginia Veterans From Initial VA COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Is Unacceptable", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "WV", "Joe Manchin", "M001183", "www.manchin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "December 17, 2020\n\t\t\t Manchin: Exclusion Of West Virginia Veterans From Initial VA COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Is Unacceptable \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington,\r\nDC  Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) called on the Veterans Affairs (VA)\r\nSecretary Robert Wilkie to provide an explanation for the exclusion of many\r\nrural Veterans, including West Virginia Veterans, from the VA's initial\r\nCOVID-19 vaccine distribution and implementation plan. Last week, during a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee\r\nhearing Senator Manchin also asked the VA about the plans to assist rural areas\r\nwith distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. Senator\r\nManchin said in part,\r\nThe distribution of the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is both\r\nsafe and effective, is a decisive moment in the fight against this horrible\r\nvirus. On December 15th, 2020 the Department of Veterans\r\nAffairs (VA) released the VA COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan, outlining the\r\norder in which Veterans and VA employees would receive coronavirus vaccines as\r\ndoses become available. As expected, the plan initially prioritizes frontline\r\nHealthcare Workers (HCWs) and the highest-risk Veterans. However, the plan does\r\nnot outline when and how rural states like West Virginia will be incorporated\r\ninto the prioritization West Virginia is one of the most patriotic states in\r\nthe country with a long history of answering the call to defend our nation.\r\nThat unique service, however, also makes West Virginia Veterans especially\r\nvulnerable to the global pandemic we are now battling. The safety and\r\nwell-being of every West Virginian must remain our top priority. Read\r\nthe letter in full below or click here.\r\n  Dear\r\nSecretary Wilkie, The\r\ndistribution of the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is both safe and\r\neffective, is a decisive moment in the fight against this horrible virus.\r\nOn December 15th, 2020 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)\r\nreleased the VA COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan, outlining the order in\r\nwhich Veterans and VA employees would receive coronavirus vaccines as doses\r\nbecome available. As expected, the plan initially prioritizes frontline\r\nHealthcare Workers (HCWs) and the highest-risk Veterans. However, the plan does\r\nnot outline when and how rural states like West Virginia will be incorporated\r\ninto the prioritization. The\r\nVA has now received its first 73,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be\r\ndistributed to 37 hospitals within the VA. Not a single one of those first 37\r\nhospitals are located in West Virginia, and I worry that the VA is not taking\r\ninto account the unique health challenges West Virginia Veterans face. My\r\noffice has learned that the while the four Veterans Affairs Medical Centers\r\n(VAMCs) in West Virginia have been training, conducting exercises, and\r\npreparing to receive the vaccine, they have not been briefed by the VA Central Office\r\n(VACO) on a specific timeline for when to expect delivery. How will the VA\r\nensure Veterans living in rural areas receive equitable access to a vaccine? I\r\nurge the Secretary to immediately make public any plans to prioritize rural\r\nVeterans and publish a specific timeline for when West Virginia Veterans can\r\nexpect to see the first doses delivered to VAMCs in my state. While\r\nit may make logistical sense to prioritize VA hospitals with high population\r\ndensity, we have the most vulnerable population in the country. Our more than\r\n140,000 Veterans are older and have higher levels of pre-existing conditions\r\nsuch as heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease that make them especially\r\nsusceptible to developing a severe illness if they become infected with the virus.\r\nAccording to the Kaiser Family Foundation, West Virginia has the most at-risk\r\npopulation in the United States, with 49% of all adults over the age 18 at-risk\r\nof serious illness if infected. Additionally, West Virginia has one of the\r\noldest Veteran populations in the country with 60% of our Veterans older than\r\nthe age of 60. Only 15% of West Virginia Veterans have served post- 9/11, the\r\nrest have served in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Gulf War eras. I\r\nunderstand that cold temperature storage for the vaccines are a key issue and\r\ncontribute to your logistics challenges. For example, the Pfizer vaccine must\r\nbe stored at -94 F and the Moderna\r\nvaccine at -4 F. How will VA secure the refrigeration and transport equipment\r\nneeded to safely ship and stock potential COVID-19 vaccine doses at rural\r\nlocations? West Virginia Veterans should not be placed lower on the priority\r\nlist simply because the VA has not yet invested in cold storage units in rural\r\nareas. West\r\nVirginia is one of the most patriotic states in the country with a long history\r\nof answering the call to defend our nation. That unique service, however, also\r\nmakes West Virginia Veterans especially vulnerable to the global pandemic we\r\nare now battling. The safety and well-being of every West Virginian must remain\r\nour top priority. Veterans across West Virginia have raised their hand to\r\ndefend and protect our nation again and again and are no strangers to thriving\r\nduring difficult times. However, the fact is that West Virginia Veterans' age\r\nand the physical nature of military service make them uniquely vulnerable to\r\nthis threat. We must do everything we can to vaccinate and protect these\r\nVeterans, who have already given so much.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-exclusion-of-west-virginia-veterans-from-initial-va-covid-19-vaccination-plan-is-unaccaptable"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3706781901419163, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}