The U.S. will become vulnerable to the coronavirus in fall and winter this year if Congress doesn’t approve new funding for more vaccines and treatments.
that up to 100 million Americans could become infected with the coronavirus during the fall and winter, which could lead to major surges in hospitalizations and deaths.
In March, the Biden administration requested $22.5 billion for coronavirus assistance, which has stalled in Congress for several reasons, including a call from Republicans to strip $5 billion in global aid. Jha told the AP that he has spoken with lawmakers in recent weeks, saying the current $10 billion proposal is “the bare minimum that we need to get through this fall and winter without large loss of life.
“All of these variants were first identified outside of the United States,” he said. “If the goal is to protect the American people, we have got to make sure the world is vaccinated. I mean, there’s just no domestic-only approach here.” “If we had the resources, we’d be there having those conversations today,” Jha said. “The window is really closing on us if we want to be in the front of the line.”