Worried by rising COVID-19 variants and the threats of future pandemics, a collection of United States lawmakers last week dispatched a letter to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees asking for further funding in the Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bill to support global vaccinations.
While recognizing that the Biden Administration plans to use any remaining funds from the American Rescue Plan to push domestic vaccine production, the authors urged that additional efforts be undertaken to vaccinate the world as quickly as possible and prevent future COVID-19 variants.
“For months, we have called strenuously for a well-funded, comprehensive, American-led global vaccination and distribution program, to prevent the emergence of new variants and bring an end to this pandemic,” the lawmakers wrote. “In July, our fears were realized when the Delta variant swept across our nation, stalling our economic recovery and causing tens of thousands of avoidable deaths. Now, the world faces yet another variant, Omicron, which may be even more transmissible than the Delta variant. We must end this cycle by prioritizing getting shots in arms around the world as soon as possible, especially in low- and lower-middle-income countries, which do not have the resources to vaccinate their populations.”
All together, the lawmakers urged committee consideration of no less than $17 billion allocated to global vaccination and treatment of COVID-19 for next year’s appropriation omnibus legislation. Currently, the House-advanced version would require only $1.3 billion divided between five different pandemic-related priorities.
Signatories included U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), along with U.S. Reps. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Jake Auchincloss (D-MA).