Iowa Senator Roni Ernst slammed for ‘jumping’ COVID vaccine line

Iowa Sen Roni Ernst, who once suggested that doctors were faking the coronavirus to make money, has come under fire for ‘jumping’ in front of vulnerable people in order to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

The Republican senator shared an image on Sunday that showed her wearing a mask as a doctor injects her with her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

In the caption she wrote: ‘Today, at the recommendation of the Office of the Attending Physician, I received the first dose of the #COVID19 vaccine.’

Iowa Sen Roni Ernst (pictured), who once said that doctors were faking the coronavirus to make money, has come under fire for ‘jumping’ in front of vulnerable people in order to get a COVID-19 vaccination

Ernst shared the image on Sunday that showed her wearing a mask as a doctor injects her with the COVID-19 vaccine. In the caption she wrote: ‘Today, at the recommendation of the Office of the Attending Physician, I received the first dose of the #COVID19 vaccine’

She then said that residents of Iowa should follow her lead and get the vaccination too. 

‘I encourage all Iowans and Americans to do the same when their time comes. Thanks to #OperationWarpSpeed and the tireless work of Americans across the country, we are one step closer to defeating this virus,’ Ernst wrote. 

‘It’s also important that we continue to wear a mask, social distance, and follow CDC guidelines to protect our families, friends, and neighbors,’ she added.

It wasn’t long before Twitter users dug up her recent comments on the virus and slammed her for getting the vaccination while vulnerable people are forced to wait. 

One person shared a screenshot of an article with the title, ‘Joni Ernst suggests doctors are faking COIVD-19 to make money.’

The same user wrote in the caption of that image: ‘It is disgraceful that you jumped the line in front of vulnerable recipients after you knowingly and purposefully made the pandemic worse.’

‘Seems fair to my 87 year old mother, locked down in her home since March,’ another person shared. 

‘If she had run around the state without a mask and mocked her political opponent for quarantining after an exposure maybe she could have had it, too. Military leaders always put troops first, not yourself,’ the person added. 

It wasn’t long before Twitter users dug up her recent comments (depicted) on the virus and slammed her for getting the vaccination while vulnerable people are forced to wait

Meanwhile, Queer Eye star Karamo Brown slammed other Republicans who received the vaccine

A third individual shared: ‘You said doctors were making money off this virus. People stopped coming in to see their doctors because of what you said. People threatened health care workers because of what you said. People died because of what you said.’

‘Shame on you, Senator. Please ask yourself if you really feel it’s beneficial to our society that even though you mocked the pandemic and disparaged front line health care providers, you have displaced a health care worker who truly needs this vaccine?’ another wrote. 

Such responses stemmed from comments that Ernst made in September during a campaign stop in Waterloo. 

Ernst was responding to a constituent who said he didn’t believe the official COVID numbers by saying that she was ‘so skeptical’ of them.  

‘These health-care providers and others are reimbursed at a higher rate if COVID is tied to it, so what do you think they’re doing?’ Ernst remarked, according to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

When asked to clarify her remarks, Ernst said that’s ‘what I’ve heard’ from health-care providers. 

‘They do get reimbursed higher amounts if it’s a COVID-related illness or death,’ she said. 

‘I heard the same thing on the news. … They’re thinking there may be 10,000 or less deaths that were actually singularly COVID-19. … I’m just really curious. It would be interesting to know that.’ 

Iowa’s COVID-19 cases started to spike just weeks after Ernst made those remarks. 

The state currently has more than 267,000 confirmed cases and at least 3,589 deaths. 

Meanwhile, Queer Eye star Karamo Brown slammed other Republicans who received the vaccine.

‘Republican f*ckers who spent the last 8 months politicizing the coronavirus, telling their constituent not to wear a mask, that it’s a hoax… getting the vaccine before front line workers, health care providers, teachers, etc. just pisses me off!’ Brown tweeted on Sunday while calling out South Carolina Sen Lindsey Graham and Florida Sen Marco Rubio.

Brown also shared an image of Vice President Pence who was vaccinated in a televised appearance Friday morning.  

Rubio (pictured getting vaccinated) tweeted about getting the vaccine on Saturday

Graham also received his first dose of the vaccination on Saturday. ‘Thank God for nurses who help people in need and know how to use a needle,’ he tweeted

Rubio tweeted about getting the vaccine on Saturday. 

‘I know I looked away from the needle And yes, I know I need a tan But I am so confident that the #Covid19 vaccine is safe & effective that I decided to take it myself,’ he wrote in the caption of an image that showed him getting his first dose of the vaccine. 

Graham also received his first dose of the vaccination on Saturday. 

‘Thank God for nurses who help people in need and know how to use a needle,’ he tweeted. 

‘Thank God for those who produced these vaccines. If enough of us take it, we will get back to normal lives. Help is on the way,’ he added.  

All members of Congress are eligible to receive the vaccine, but some lawmakers, mostly Republicans, are being called out for getting vaccinated before many frontline healthcare workers.

The response also stems from the way many Republicans handled the pandemic in their respective states.