U.S. Covid response may have to be scaled back because of congressional funding inaction- White House

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Fri, 2022-03-11 10:01 — mike kraft

Covid response may have to be scaled back amid congressional inaction, White House says With $15.6 billion in coronavirus aid stripped from a deal to fund the government, Democrats are scrambling for how to fund the effort. Washington Post

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.

ALSO SEE: Funding fight puts future of US pandemic response in peril -- The Hill

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/597765-funding-fight-puts-future-of-us-pandemic-response-in-peril

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.

Taking to the Senate floor on Thursday, Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) did not offer a plan forward — though he emphasized the need for swift action to ensure that the country is “prepared.” ...

While U.S. coronavirus cases have fallen to their lowest levels since July 2021, more than 9,000 Americans per week continue to die of covid-19, according to The Washington Post’s virus tracker. The White House — which formally asked for about $22.5 billion to address public health needs earlier this month — also has warned that new variants could emerge and cause havoc again, a message echoed by advocates.

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.

Without new funding, administration officials say that key parts of the U.S. covid response will need to be scaled back or halted.

“We are currently assessing the impact that a continued lack of funds will have on all elements of our pandemic response, including where programs may need to abruptly end, or be pared back and what gaps this will leave in our ability to provide protections,” said a White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the budget negotiations.

Biden officials have said they plan to buy 20 million doses of Pfizer’s antiviral pills, a highly effective treatment touted as a game-changer when it was authorized late last year because it enables people at high risk of severe covid to take pills at home to avoid getting worse — but the administration is still reviewing whether it will have the funds to do so. Meanwhile, U.S. officials are expecting to exhaust their supply of antivirals by September, and they warn that other countries will soon place orders for those treatments that could push the United States further toward the back of the line. ...

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