Biden administration pushes to save key Covid programs in debt ceiling talks

Biden administration officials worked Tuesday to keep funding clear for key components of the federal response to the coronavirus in negotiations with House Republicans on a deal to raise the debt limit, according to senior officials familiar with the conversations.

Government officials are trying to shield about $5 billion in funding for a program to develop the next generation of coronavirus vaccines and treatments. They are also seeking more than $1 billion in funding for an initiative to offer free coronavirus injections to uninsured Americans, the officials said.

The funds the administration is using for the two programs have already been approved by Congress, but may now be at risk as Republicans try to force cuts from the Biden administration as a condition of raising the debt limit.

As part of a debt limit deal, House Republicans want to reclaim tens of billions of dollars in unspent funds from previously passed Covid-19 relief legislation. It was unclear Tuesday which funds specifically might be recovered as part of a deal, though government and congressional negotiators have reached some agreement on the subject. President Biden said this month that withdrawing unspent coronavirus funds was “on the table.”

White House representatives and Chairman Kevin McCarthy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Some White House officials are reviewing the vaccine development program, called Project NextGen, as the key Covid measure to protect in the debt ceiling talks. It is loosely modeled after the Trump administration’s vaccine development program known as Operation Warp Speed, which delivered a series of effective injections to Americans in record time.

Biden administration officials had used other coronavirus fighting funds this year to support the NextGen program, including some money earmarked for testing, with the goal of delivering a more durable or effective vaccine as early as next year. While no contracts have yet been signed with vaccine manufacturers, the program could be one of the most ambitious ventures in the government’s response to the coronavirus, which entered a new phase with the passage of the public health emergency on April 11. May.

Project NextGen aims to fund the development of coronavirus vaccines that use technology other than that of Moderna and Pfizer. Such new vaccines could potentially provide longer-lasting protection against a wider range of coronavirus variants or better defense against infections.

Vaccines administered through the nose or mouth, known as mucosal vaccines, are among the options state officials plan to support, with a goal of rolling one out as early as fall 2024, officials said. (In the shorter term, federal regulators are expected to approve another round of booster shots later this year.)

The project also aims to fund the development of pancoronavirus vaccines, which would provide protection against several coronaviruses. Officials plan to also fund the development of new monoclonal antibody treatments.

Dawn O’Connell, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in an interview this month that federal officials were exploring potential vaccine options for the project and lining up potential manufacturers.

“We’re looking at all of this and figuring out what the gaps are, what we need most now and investing in those candidates,” Ms O’Connell said, referring to the different technologies that could be used for the vaccines.

By delivering vaccines directly into the nose or mouth, where the virus first enters and begins to replicate, scientists hope to prevent more infections before they start, reducing the spread of the virus more dramatically than with current injectables. injections.

Public health experts believe that pancoronavirus vaccines could potentially broaden people’s immune response to the virus, helping people build a defense against new variants before they even arrive.