OAN’s Roy Francis
9:56 AM – Saturday, August 26, 2023
President Joe Biden said on Friday that he plans to request more funding from Congress in order to develop a new COVID vaccine.
“I signed off this morning on a proposal we have to present to the Congress a request for additional funding for a new vaccine that is necessary, that works,” Biden told reporters while vacationing in Lake Tahoe. “It will likely be recommended that everybody get it no matter whether they’ve gotten it before or not.”
The announcement comes after reports of a recent rise in COVID-19 cases in some regions of the country. Due to the recent reports of a rise in hospitalizations, mask mandates are also slowly being reintroduced by some organizations, such as LionsGate studios.
Updated versions of the vaccine which contain the newer version of the virus are already being developed by Pfizer, Novavx and Moderna. Officials claim that due to the mutating nature of the virus, the vaccine needs to constantly be updated.
The supplemental funding that the Biden administration recently presented to Congress did not include any funding for COVID vaccines. Instead, the request asked for around $40 billion for short-term “key priorities” such as more aide for Ukraine, federal disaster funds, climate change and a minimal amount for border security.
In fall of 2022, Biden had also asked for around $9 billion from Congress for funding towards the virus, but the request was denied by Congress at the time.
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