Rep. Cindy Axne, the lone congressional Democrat from Iowa, whom Republicans are looking to unseat, made another major gaffe. She claimed Iowa hospitals are full, and her taxpayer-funded staff had to correct the record, according to a report.
Axne appeared on WHO13, a local NBC affiliate in Iowa and said there are no longer hospital beds available since they are being taken up by what she claimed is a surge in Chinese coronavirus cases of the unvaccinated. She also said that because of this, a person in dire need, such as someone who had a car accident or heart attack would not have access to a hospital bed:
We have hospitals right here in Des Moines that said they have no more beds left. You have a heart attack, guess what? You’re out of luck, your child gets in a car accident unfortunately they’re out of luck. You want to know why? Because we’re not having enough people vaccinated in, in, Iowa and those who are vaccinated, aren’t landing, ending up in the hospital at nearly the degree that those who are unvaccinated are what’s happening right now is those unvaccinated people are taking up beds that Iowans desperately need. So I really just urge everybody to get vaccinated because if it’s not you it could be your neighbor who suffers a heart attack and then can’t even get a bed at the hospital. That’s not what we should be doing here [Emphasis added].
The reporter pressed Axne to clarify her claim that people who had a car accident or a heart attack will not be able to get a bed in a hospital:
We have some hospitals that are at that point, yes. And there are certainly hospitals across the country that have absolutely reach that point and as this continues to spread, we’re going to see hospitals across, all across, the nation with this issue [Emphasis added].
According to a WHO13 report, the network confirmed that 95 percent or more of the hospitalizations were from unvaccinated people. Still, it noted the network was “unable to find any hospital in Iowa that can no longer accept patients in emergency situations, like heart attacks or children in car crashes as Axne mentioned.”
After Axne made her remarks, the network reported that her office paid for by taxpayers has to step in and clarify what the congresswoman meant by her statement. Her office mentioned that “some of [the Iowa] facilities were “short on space” and that Axne was reminding Iowans that hospitals provide more than care for people affected by the Chinese coronavirus:
Recently, the Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines confirmed it was suspending elective surgeries because of capacity issues, and a spokesperson for Iowa’s MercyOne hospitals said that some of their facilities were “short on space.” Rep. Axne reminded Iowans that the critical care hospitals provide isn’t limited to treating COVID-19 – ICU capacity is necessary for medical emergencies or accidents, and the doctors and nurses treating all those ailments can be strained if a hospital is overwhelmed. That’s why she encouraged all Iowans to get a COVID-19 vaccination if they haven’t already. The data shows that a vaccination is the best tool Iowans have to keep themselves and their families out of the ICU’s COVID-19 ward, and ensure there’s hospital capacity to treat patients who need the other kinds of care our doctors and nurses provide [Emphasis added].
During an interview with a local CBS news station, Axne, while not wearing a mask, complained about the thousands of people who have attended the annual Iowa State Fair not wearing a mask.
Follow Jacob Bliss on Twitter @jacobmbliss.