The Los Angeles Post

Feds stress need for new COVID funding

by · Published · Updated

The boosters will be free, but there’s no money for much more.

  • White House officials on Tuesday reiterated calls for new COVID-19 response funding to be approved by Congress as the fall vaccination campaign begins, with officials warning that there are currently not enough resources to respond should a new surge emerge.
  • White House officials like COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra warned about the consequences of Congress failing to allocate more money.

“Congress is aware that if we do not continue to fund the response, things … can easily go backwards,” Jha said.

 

Becerra, however, remained vague on whether there are enough updated vaccine doses available for whoever wants one when asked about the lack of new funding. The White House previously warned that additional boosters and variant-specific vaccines would not be available for everyone if new funding was not approved by Congress.

 

The wells run dry: The White House cut funds from other areas of the COVID-19 response earlier this year in order to continually fund treatments and vaccines.

Becerra said the possibility of going into the fall and winter without vaccines for Americans was “unacceptable.”

 

“We will not have tests in our Strategic National Stockpile should we see another omicron like event,” Becerra said. “We had promised the American people we would make sure that we did not get into that, but we needed Congress to step up. Congress has not stepped up.”