When COVID cases started rising again in the US, President Joe Biden told reporters that he had signed off on a proposal for Congress to “request additional funding for a new vaccine.”
Biden also said, “Tentatively it is recommended that it will likely be recommended everybody get it no matter whether they’ve gotten it before or not.”
Recently, Biden requested $40 million from Congress. The request included money for Ukraine, US federal disaster funds, and funds for enforcement along the US-Mexico border to “slow the flow of fentanyl.” This request did not mention funds for a new COVID vaccine.
A request for $9.25 billion to fight coronavirus was denied by Congress in 2022.
The new COVID-19 vaccines will contain one version of the omicron strain, XBB.1.5. Previous vaccines included a mix of the original coronavirus strain with last year’s most common omicron variants.
Since coronavirus continues to mutate, updated vaccines will always be needed.
The vaccines are underway at Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax, a smaller manufacturer.
Before a vaccine can be given to people, the Food and Drug Administration must sign off on it and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must issue recommendations for use.
In September 2022, Biden said the COVID-19 pandemic was “over,” but now says, “we’re still doing a lot of work on it.”
