Coronavirus: US faces ‘dire’ risk of vaccine rationing without more funds
- Biden administration officials have been warning for weeks that the US has spent nearly all the US$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan for coronavirus response
- Vaccines will be hard to come by, tests will be scarce; ‘I think we would see a lot of unnecessary loss of life if that were to happen,’ Covid-19 doctor said
The United States is planning for “dire” contingencies that could include rationing supplies of vaccines and treatments this autumn if Congress doesn’t approve more money for fighting Covid-19.
In public comments and private meetings on Capitol Hill, Dr Ashish Jha, the White House coronavirus coordinator, has painted a dark picture in which the US could be forced to cede many of the advances made against the coronavirus over the last two years and even the most vulnerable could face supply shortages.
Biden administration officials have been warning for weeks that the country has spent nearly all the money in the US$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that was dedicated directly to Covid-19 response.
A small pool of money remains, and the administration faces critical decisions about how to spend it. That means tough decisions, like weighing whether to use it to secure the next generation of vaccines to protect the highest risk populations or giving priority to a supply of highly effective therapies that dramatically reduce the risks of severe illness and death.
That decision may be made in the coming week, according to the administration, as the White House faces imminent deadlines to begin placing orders for vaccines and treatments before other nations jump ahead of the US in accessing supply.