Photo by Julie Fleming
President Joe Biden’s competent handling of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is earning him high marks in a state that supported his opponent in the 2020 election. A new Des Moines Reigster/Mediacom Iowa Poll released today showed that 57% of Iowans approve of the job Biden is doing to bring the pandemic to an end. Just 37% disapprove of his performance there.
The new president also enjoys a higher overall approval rating than disapproval one, though only by a bit. The survey finds 47% of Iowans approve of Biden’s overall job performance, with 44% disapproving. Biden also enjoys a good favorability rating, with 51% having a favorable view of him and 46% an unfavorable opinion. That’s a reversal from last fall during the campaign, when just 43% of Iowans said they viewed him favorably.
The movement for Biden is a notable one given that he lost Iowa to then-President Donald Trump in November, 53% to 45%.
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Biden’s swift improvements to the vaccine rollout, the relatively drama-free administration he’s run so far, and the popular American Rescue Plan he signed into law have been widely cited as boosting his popularity in a nation looking for some return to normalcy.
Iowa started off very poorly with the vaccination process, in large part due to the Trump Administration providing a low number of the doses to the state. In January and early February, Iowa ranked 46th or 47th in the nation at different points for the number of vaccines that had been allocated to the state per capita from the federal government.
“Reynolds said she doesn’t know why Iowa, which has a high proportion of older residents, is not receiving more vaccines,” reported the Capital Dispatch in January.
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Despite Iowa Republicans’ close loyalty to former President Donald Trump, the partnership didn’t seem to help Iowans get a fair share of vaccines. That has changed under Biden, and Iowa is now receiving so much supply that the state has jumped to 16th in the nation for at least one dose administered per capita and 16th for percent of the population fully vaccinated (about 12% as of Monday afternoon).
by Pat Rynard
Posted 3/15/21
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