Washington, DC – Thanks to the hard work of the Biden administration, Americans have access to the vaccines, tests, and treatments they need to stay safe and keep our economy growing. But without more resources now, our progress is fragile.
Last week, the federal government stopped reimbursing medical providers for testing and treating uninsured Americans for COVID-19, and next week, those same uninsured Americans will lose access to free vaccines. If Congress doesn’t approve the necessary funding as soon as possible, we will also lose access to monoclonal antibodies, treatments to protect immunocompromised people, and have a limited supply of boosters if a fourth dose is needed for all Americans in the fall.
We need more funding now, and Americans agree: a recent poll showed overwhelming support for Congress to approve additional funding to prevent a backslide and protect us in the future. However, Republicans have demonstrated that they would rather play political games and hold up the funding just to score a political win.
In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:
“We are in a pivotal moment in our response to COVID-19. Republicans must join with Democrats to pass this funding as soon as possible. The GOP’s political games hurt the people they have sworn to protect. Without this funding, more will get sick and more will die, and we’ll be unprepared for the future, leaving us exposed to future variants and surges. Republicans must join with Democrats to approve the additional funding before we lose access to any more tools we need to fight the pandemic.”
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.