Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) sent a letter urging the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to bolster allocations of COVID-19 vaccination doses to Northwest Arkansas. The request follows recent data showing the need to enhance vaccination rates in the region. In addition to sending the letter, Womack today also had a meeting with Governor Asa Hutchinson, Dr. José R. Romero (Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health), and Colonel (Ret.) Robert Ator (Program Manager for Arkansas Vaccine Distribution) to further discuss these concerns, vaccine tracking, and federal and state coordination efforts.
Congressman Womack said, “Arkansas has made vaccine distribution and coordination a priority. Our state and local leaders are using data to identify successes and gaps in current plans, and we want to maximize getting shots into arms. My goal is to ensure no part of the region falls extremely behind. I’ll continue working with all state and federal stakeholders to make sure the Natural State has the resources needed to defeat the coronavirus.”
While Arkansas has implemented a robust vaccination plan, recent data found that counties in the Third District had lower-than-desired inoculation rates, with no county reaching over 20% of its population being partially vaccinated. The statistics indicate an important need to increase vaccination rates across Northwest Arkansas. Womack is working in coordination with Governor Hutchinson, the Arkansas Department of Health, and Arkansas’s Community Health Centers to enhance vaccination rates and further protect the public health and safety of residents.
Womack supports robust vaccine distribution to establish herd immunity, which will enable Arkansas and the nation to reopen our country quickly and safely.
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