With Covid funding stalled, White House prepares for vaccine shortage in the fall

With Covid funding stalled, White House prepares for vaccine shortage in the fall The White House is looking for ways to make additional cuts and reallocate remaining Covid resources as it anticipates a funding shortfall for new vaccines YahooNews

WASHINGTON —  ....

With the request for additional Covid funding stalled in Congress, the federal government doesn’t have enough money to begin contract negotiations with Pfizer and Moderna for new versions of vaccines the companies are developing for the fall. The government would need to secure contracts for those vaccine doses in the coming weeks if it is to ensure enough supply for the entire country, a senior administration official said Monday on a call with reporters.

The official projected that without new funding, the U.S. will be able to make vaccines available to only the highest-risk people this fall, with the administration looking for spending cuts that would free up enough money to start the contract negotiation process.

“We’re looking at everything, and we’re looking to see what can we scrape together to at least begin that contract negotiation so we can at least get going on this,” the official said. “But without additional funding, there is no chance that we’re going to have vaccines for all Americans, and we’ll have to make some very difficult choices about cutting back other areas, such as therapeutics and testing.”  ...