The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, may lack the necessary funds to fulfill the Biden administration’s goal of vaccinating hundreds of millions of people in low- and middle-income countries next year, Politico reports.
The American Rescue Plan allocated over $1.6 billion for international vaccine distribution, but U.S. officials said in September that it would cost a minimum of $7 billion to afford “vaccine readiness and effective deployment, including supporting the health workforce needed to deliver vaccines, combatting hesitancy, addressing legal and contractual requirements, and procuring ancillary supplies.”
Politico reports that USAID officials, during meetings in the past few weeks, have expressed concerns about the possibility of the vaccine distribution effort stalling in the spring of next year if they’re unable to secure additional funding.
“We can’t do what we’re supposed to do if we have no money to do it,” one unnamed USAID official told the news outlet. “And we shouldn’t pull on the money we already have set aside for other humanitarian efforts. Without more money, the vaccination campaign will begin to slow significantly.”
“USAID is not taking our foot off the gas in this effort and we are assessing what will be required as we continue to collaborate with our international partners to build on this effort in 2022,” a spokesperson for USAID told Politico on Monday.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last week during a press conference that the administration has the funds needed for the campaign, saying, “there's always ... an open line of communication with members and leadership about what may be needed. We believe we have the resources to get people vaccinated.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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