Additional Funding Is Needed Now In Order to Sustain Our COVID-19 Recovery
When President Biden took office, his administration had to build a COVID response from nothing. Today, the majority of Americans are vaccinated, boosters are easily obtainable, testing is widespread and convenient, and there are multiple therapeutics to treat COVID. But we can’t stop short. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but in order to return to our lives, we must continue investing in what we know works.
Experts agree: Congress must act now and provide additional funding to prevent a loss of the tools we need to respond to the pandemic, invest in a return to normalcy, and provide an insurance policy for tomorrow.
The public agrees as well: polling released today shows over 60% of Americans want Congress to swiftly pass additional funding to sustain our COVID-19 response. It’s up to Congress to ensure we don’t lose access to what we need to fight the pandemic now while preparing for the future.
EXPERTS
Letter signed by more than 200 leading doctors, medical experts, and health care organizations, 3/18/22. “Now is not the time to stall additional funding for COVID relief. There is a legitimate need to account for the resources appropriated and spent on COVID to date. We understand that a reasonable accounting has been provided, and a ‘full accounting’ for every program is likely to take months. The country does not have months.” [Letter signed by more than 200 leading doctors, medical experts, and health care organizations, 3/18/22]
Letter signed by more than 50 health care and advocacy organizations, 3/25/22. “We the undersigned organizations urge Congress to approve this funding as soon as possible to avoid any disruption in our ability to contain the pandemic. This should not be a political or partisan issue. The funding request of about $70 per person is a price every American would pay to make sure we have the tools we need to keep people safe and schools and businesses open.” [Letter signed by more than 50 health care and advocacy organizations, 3/25/22]
GOVERNORS
[@GovMurphy, 3/17/22]
[@SenJeffMerkley, 3/21/22]
HEADLINES
The Washington Post: White House Officials Say US Has Exhausted Funds To Buy Potential Fourth Vaccine Dose For All Americans. “The Biden administration lacks the funds to purchase a potential fourth coronavirus vaccine dose for everyone, even as other countries place their own orders and potentially move ahead of the United States in line, administration officials said Monday. Federal officials have secured enough doses to cover a fourth shot for Americans age 65 and older as well as the initial regimen for children under 5, should regulators determine those shots are necessary, said three officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to detail funding decisions.” [The Washington Post, 3/22/22]
Politico: ‘We’ve Learned Absolutely Nothing’: Tests Could Again Be In Short Supply If Covid Surges. “The Biden administration estimates that the testing market will remain stable until the early summer, but rapidly falling demand for once-popular at-home Covid-19 tests is leading some manufacturers to cut back… ‘It’s like we’ve learned absolutely nothing as a system during this pandemic,’ Becker said. ‘I have no reason to believe that wouldn’t happen again because they don’t have the demand.’ The concern over the supply of testing comes as the Biden administration warns Congress that if it does not soon provide more than $22 billion in additional funding, the administration will not be able to purchase new supplies of drugs, vaccines, masks and tests.” [Politico, 3/22/22]
The New York Times: US Vaccination Rates Have Stalled With Another Potential Uptick Coming. “Public health agencies are also grappling with uncertainty around funding, with Congress yet to approve billions of dollars in new emergency Covid aid. Previous aid packages passed without strings attached, but now most Republicans in Congress say they will not approve another aid package unless the White House finds a way to pay for it… Experts said there should be renewed urgency for people to get vaccinated now as the United States braces for another potential surge, driven by BA.2, which is sweeping through some European countries.” [The New York Times, 3/21/22]
AP: COVID Budget Impasse Halts Aid To Test And Treat Uninsured. “With an urgent funding request stuck in Congress, a federal agency says it can no longer cover COVID tests and treatments bills for uninsured people and will stop taking claims at midnight Tuesday… Levitt said he also worries vaccine providers could dial back their outreach efforts to uninsured people… The biggest obstacle is in the evenly divided Senate, where Democrats would need 10 Republican votes to avoid a filibuster and approve the money. But Republican senators say that savings should be found from the trillions that Congress has already provided since the pandemic began two years ago.” [AP, 3/22/22]
Bloomberg Law: Covid Testing, Vaccinations For Uninsured At Risk As Funds End. “The White House announced last week it has to shut down the program that pays health-care providers for Covid tests, treatment, and vaccines for the uninsured due to a lack of funding… Republicans in the Senate have questioned the need for additional funds to keep Covid response programs running. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee, told reporters last week that based on information given to him by the White House, there’s billions of dollars in unallocated Covid funds going untouched.” [Bloomberg Law, 3/23/22]
The Atlantic: America Is Zooming Through Pandemic Panic-Neglect Cycle. “This week, Congress nixed $15 billion in coronavirus funding from a $1.5 trillion spending bill, which President Joe Biden then signed on Tuesday. The decision is catastrophic, and as the White House has noted, its consequences will unfurl quickly… To be clear, these facets of the pandemic response were already insufficient. The U.S. has never tested sufficiently, never vaccinated enough people, never made enough treatments accessible to its most vulnerable, and never adequately worked to flatten global vaccine inequities. These measures needed to be strengthened, not weakened even further.” [The Atlantic, 3/17/22]
CNN: White House Says Administration Is Out Of Money For Covid Testing, Treatment And Vaccines Without New Funding. “According to an administration official, the White House has secured funding to vaccinate children under 5 years old and offer a fourth booster shot to the immunocompromised. Beyond that, however, any other measures would require additional approval from Congress. The White House says that, of the American Rescue Plan’s $1.9 trillion in funding, just $300 billion remains unobligated, $240 billion of which has been allocated for cities and states already. The remaining funding — approximately $60 billion — is left for use for a specific emergency use by agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” [CNN, 3/21/22]
THE FACTS ARE CLEAR
Tools We Need To End This Pandemic
Treatments. On our current trajectory, the U.S. could face a potential shortage of treatments, including monoclonal antibodies, oral antiviral pills, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We cannot go back. Funding must be provided to avoid rationing, bidding wars, and inequitable distribution of these lifesaving resources. If funding is not provided immediately:
- By May, the U.S. will be out of monoclonal antibody treatments, which need to be ordered months in advance.
- By July, Americans will have no access to PrEP, a lifesaving drug used to prevent infection for our immunocompromised friends and neighbors who do not have sufficient protection against COVID-19. Funding must be provided in March to avoid shortages over the summer.
- By September, Americans will be unable to access oral antivirals, like paxlovid. Additional treatments must be ordered significantly in advance, or Americans could be facing a fall without access to these lifesaving drugs.
Tools We Need To Be Prepared In The Future
Testing. We all remember the days when at-home tests were hard to find and testing site lines wound around the block. The U.S. needs to maintain and expand domestic manufacturing of tests today and in the future, but without additional funding, this will be impossible and Americans will see a drastic reduction in testing capacity. If funding is not provided immediately:
- By June, America’s domestic testing capacity will be significantly diminished as the government will be unable to continue helping domestic manufacturers.
Reimbursement For The Uninsured. On March 22nd, funding to reimburse health care providers for uninsured testing and COVID treatment ran out, and vaccine administration funds are slated to run out by April 5th. This funding has served as a lifeline to millions of American families that would have otherwise had to make impossible decisions between paying their medical bills or putting food on the table.
Planning Ahead. It is the investments in groundbreaking research and preparedness that are leading Americans out of this pandemic and we cannot turn back now. Without additional funding, we simply cannot afford to continue the research and development that will provide the pan-COVID vaccines to protect us against the next variant or next pandemic.