The White House is preparing about 100 million Americans to become infected with COVID-19 during a wave this fall and winter if Congress does not provide new funding for vaccines and tests, a senior administration official said Friday, warning that new money is needed to have enough vaccines for everyone.
A senior administration official told a small group of reporters on Friday that the assessment was the average of a number of models from outside experts the administration consulted, meaning it was also possible for significantly more Americans to catch the virus, especially if there is a large new one. option.
This compares to approximately 130-140 million Americans who are thought to have been infected during the Omicron wave this winter, leading to a significant jump in deaths.
The administration says the number of cases could be lower if the new funding allows many Americans to receive updated vaccines this fall and tests to be plentiful.
The Biden administration says the new wave is not a cause for panic, given that there are new tools such as the highly effective Pfizer pill known as Paxlovid, as well as vaccinations.
But officials are trying to sound the drums that they need new funding from Congress to have those tools available during the wave coming later this year.
Pfizer and Moderna are working on new versions of the vaccine to be more effective against newer mutations in the virus. The so-called bivalent vaccine would target the omicron variant as well as the original strain.
These new vaccines are expected to be ready by the fall, but the United States will not have enough money to buy them for all Americans unless Congress provides new funding, the administration said.
A senior administration official said the contingency plan, if Congress does not provide new money, is to withdraw all funding from tests, new treatments and training for vaccines and distribution, and try to accumulate it to have enough to be able to buy enough updated vaccines. for the elderly.
Without new money, Paxlovid supplies are expected to expire by October or November, the official said, which means that if people become infected with the wool virus over the holidays, treatment will not be available.
Despite repeated calls from the administration, new funding for COVID-19 remains stagnant in Congress amid Republican resistance. Republicans are pushing for a vote to halt the administration’s lifting of restrictions from the southern border pandemic era, known as Title 42, which is also politically amusing for Democrats, as some of its moderate members also oppose the abolition of the measure.
Funding for COVID-19 may increase by attaching to new aid to Ukraine through Congress, but Democrat leaders have not yet made it clear whether they intend to do so, with the Republican Party warning against the move.
The White House has demanded $ 22.5 billion, although lawmakers have earmarked a smaller amount, $ 10 billion, which the parties have been able to find a way to pay.
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Other countries are also eager to buy more treatments and updated vaccines, the official said, which means that if the United States tries to wait until the fall to buy them, supplies are unlikely to be available until months later.
The lack of rapid tests was also a widespread problem for the omicron wave this winter. The spokesman warned on Friday that testing companies are now seeking to lay off workers and will not have enough supplies for the autumn wave unless the government intervenes with new funding.
This story was updated at 2:32 p.m.
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