As the Biden administration asks Congress for additional federal dollars to fight infectious diseases, it faces a conundrum: pandemic fatigue.
The White House has asked for $22.4 billion for COVID-19 and $4.5 billion for monkeypox as part of the upcoming short-term government funding bill, but its prospects are unclear, with Republicans reluctant to support yet another infusion of new public health funding.
While nearly 400 Americans are still dying of COVID-19 every day, hospitalization and case rates are down. Life has largely returned to normal. So it’s harder to make the case for even more pandemic money.
