White House Warns It’s Unable to Cover Additional COVID Boosters for All
White House officials warned this week that the federal government does not have enough money to pay for additional COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, if needed.
“Right now, we don’t have enough money for fourth doses, if they’re called for,” said White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients during a podcast on Monday.
The federal government has indicated there are enough funds to cover a second round of boosters for the elderly but not the entire population.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna each recently filed for an emergency authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people aged 65 and older to receive a second COVID-19 booster shot.
The FDA has since announced it will hold a meeting on April 6 to discuss additional boosters.
Although $22.5 billion was initially requested in COVID-19 relief aid, that aid has since been dropped entirely from the Consolidated Appropriations Act. According to the White House, the $60 billion left from the initial $300 billion in COVID-19 relief will not be enough to fulfill additional vaccination efforts.
On Tuesday, members from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living issued a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting an extension of the federal public health emergency beyond the April 16, 2022, expiration date.
In the letter, the AHCA/NCAL members express that the surge of cases of the BA.2 variant should signal to Congress that additional funds are needed to continue to battle the virus, especially for the elderly, through weekly testing, vaccine distribution and continued access to lifesaving treatments like monoclonal antibodies.
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