- Senate Republicans and Democrats have reportedly reached a tentative deal on $10 billion in additional COVID-19 funding to shore up the nation’s pandemic preparedness.
- Senator Mitt Romney told reporters he had a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, to cover the spending by redirecting money from the American Rescue Plan passed last year.
- The funding is far less than the $22.5 billion the White House had requested from Congress.
- The White House has warned that the uninsured would no longer have COVID-19 testing, treatments, and vaccinations coverage.
- Also See: Biden Administration Proposes $82B In Spending For Future Pandemics Preparedness.
- According to administration officials, the U.S. would also face shortages of monoclonal antibody treatments, antiviral pills, and testing.
- Related: White House Warns It Cannot Afford COVID-19 Related Solutions If Cases Increase.
- House Democrats initially sought to pass $15 billion in Covid money earlier this month, but it was removed as some Democratic lawmakers said they felt blindsided by the provision.
- A more contagious variant of omicron, BA.2, is spreading in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it now makes up more than half of all infections that have undergone genetic sequencing.
