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Covid response may have to be scaled back amid congressional inaction, White House says
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/10/congress-covid-funding/The United States is poised to run out of tests, treatments and vaccines to fight the coronavirus after a $15.6 billion funding plan collapsed in Congress on Wednesday, alarming health-care advocates and raising concerns about the fate of President Biden’s broader covid response plan.
“Testing capacity … will decline this month. In April, free testing and treatments for tens of millions of Americans without health insurance will end. In May, America’s supply of monoclonal antibodies will run out,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a briefing on Thursday.
With coronavirus aid stripped from a deal to fund the government, Democrats this week were left scrambling, unsure as to how they would advance a tranche of spending they see as critical. The House set in motion a plan to vote next week on a new bill that would provide $15 billion for testing, treatment and vaccines. But the proposal appeared likely to falter in the Senate, where Republicans have demanded that lawmakers redirect existing stimulus funds, or find some other way to pay for it.
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Democrats and Republicans ultimately settled on $15 billion in an emergency package they attached to a must-pass proposal to fund the government and avert a shutdown. But that funding, which included $5 billion for global vaccinations and response, was abruptly dropped on Wednesday over a dispute about how to pay for it. House Democrats balked at a GOP-driven plan to repurpose some money that had been pledged to states, which they said would leave governors and legislators struggling to backfill their budgets.
“Testing capacity … will decline this month. In April, free testing and treatments for tens of millions of Americans without health insurance will end. In May, America’s supply of monoclonal antibodies will run out,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a briefing on Thursday.
With coronavirus aid stripped from a deal to fund the government, Democrats this week were left scrambling, unsure as to how they would advance a tranche of spending they see as critical. The House set in motion a plan to vote next week on a new bill that would provide $15 billion for testing, treatment and vaccines. But the proposal appeared likely to falter in the Senate, where Republicans have demanded that lawmakers redirect existing stimulus funds, or find some other way to pay for it.
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(snip)
Democrats and Republicans ultimately settled on $15 billion in an emergency package they attached to a must-pass proposal to fund the government and avert a shutdown. But that funding, which included $5 billion for global vaccinations and response, was abruptly dropped on Wednesday over a dispute about how to pay for it. House Democrats balked at a GOP-driven plan to repurpose some money that had been pledged to states, which they said would leave governors and legislators struggling to backfill their budgets.