Funds for Global Vaccination Effort Missing From Latest Covid Relief Package
Health worker Abdul K. Bangura delivering a cooler of COVID vaccines to Kathantha Yimbo, Sierra Leone. Photo: Finbarr O’Reilly / The New York Times
The US Senate announced on Monday it has reached an agreement on the latest iteration of COVID relief, a $10 billion dollar package that allocates $5 billion in funding for therapeutics and $750 million in funding for research and clinical trials in anticipation of future variants.
After a weekend of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans, the bill does not include the $5 billion in funding that had been set aside for the global vaccination effort in an earlier version of the bill. The change is part of a broader effort by Republicans to limit the size of Biden’s spending packages.
The choice has already been criticized by those on the other side of the aisle, however, with chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) tweeting, “Without global vaccination funding, we are not tackling the problem of COVID. A deal without global aid funding and a real plan to invest the money we need will run into problems in the House.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has acknowledged the limitations of the current bill, urging Congress to finalize the deal whilst reiterating the Biden administration’s commitment to further support the international vaccine effort. Claiming that a number of Republicans had previously expressed support to continue promoting vaccinations worldwide, Psaki stated in Monday’s White House press briefing “I would just note that if we want to continue to be providing to the world, we need money. And that’s a case we will continue to make.”
Medical staff at Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, 2021. Photo: Ben Curtis/ Associated Press
At present, global health experts estimate that more than 1.66 billion people around the world remain unvaccinated, with some countries turning away donations of vaccines as they lack the infrastructure necessary to distribute, store, and administer them. This discrepancy also highlights global inequities, with the percentage of the population who have received at least one dose varying from 64.6 percent at the global level to only 14.7 percent in low-income countries, according to data collected by Oxford University.
Exploratory studies suggest that scaling up efforts to provide three doses of an mRNA vaccine to residents of low and lower-middle income countries could prevent an additional 1.5 million deaths. Though deaths associated with the virus have been considerable worldwide, COVID-19 mortality rates have been highest in the developing world.
Beyond the potential lives lost to the pandemic, experts warn of ripple effects on developing countries’ ability to maintain other public health services. COVID-19 is said to be disrupting the prevention and treatment of diseases such as tuberculosis and impeding childhood vaccination programs. Continuation of services such as these are essential, not only to ameliorating poverty and other social determinants associated with infectious diseases, but also to ensuring our preparedness for future pandemics or for future waves of this one.
Those advocating for the continuation of funding for global vaccines also claim the investment is worth it to prevent the development of more variants. Jen Kates, director of global health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, claimed the Senate’s decision illustrates the continued shortsightedness of politicians’ response to the pandemic. In a comment given to the Washington Post, Kates described the deal as “a victory for the virus.”