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Congress sees growing bicameral call for $34B to improve global vaccine distribution

In a letter written to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), more than 70 U.S. representatives and senators have called for providing up to $34 billion to speed up COVID-19 vaccine production for global use.

“No investment in the fight against COVID-19 is more urgent and cost-effective now than an investment in getting the world vaccinated as quickly as possible,” the lawmakers wrote. “$34 billion is a small price to pay to help return the U.S. and global economy to normalcy, and we request that such an amount is included in the upcoming spending package. In rising to this challenge, we can show once again that in moments of great need, America does great things.”

By calling for such funding to be amended onto budget reconciliation, the lawmakers are touting a method that could potentially see it fast-tracked. The $34 billion figure was based on an estimate from the Public Citizen consumer advocacy organization, which noted that it would cost up to $25 billion to provide enough vaccine manufacturing capacity to vaccinate 60 percent of the populations involved in the COVAX scheme. An additional $8.5 billion would be needed to provide end-to-end delivery of vaccines.

COVAX is a global, collaborative effort to guarantee equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to those in need. It is jointly run by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization (WHO), and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Despite COVAX’s efforts, it is estimated that only approximately one percent of people in low-income nations are vaccinated. While the United States has pledged 500 million doses for worldwide use, lawmakers said this was less than representative of America’s fair share, given its place in the global economy and manufacturing capacity.

Leading efforts in the House are U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), while U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ed Markey (D-MA) are guiding efforts in the Senate. Together, their letter pointed to the Nullifying Opportunities for Variants to Infect & Decimate (NOVID) Act (H.R. 3778/S.1976) as a model for production and distribution strategy. The legislation was introduced in June by Krishnamoorthi, Jayapal, Warren, and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

No investment in the fight against COVID-19 is more urgent and cost-effective now than an investment in getting the world vaccinated as quickly as possible,” the lawmakers wrote. “Even assuming wealthy countries will be fully vaccinated by mid-2021, the global economic cost of not vaccinating lower-income countries is estimated to be $9 trillion per year or nearly ten percent of global GDP.v $34 billion is a small price to pay to help return the U.S. and global economy to normalcy, and we request that such an amount is included in the upcoming spending package.”

Chris Galford

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