WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dr. Anthony Fauci, along with the CDC, FDA, and Department of Health and Human Services outlined what they need in order to deter COVID and future pandemics.
“COVID-19 has killed over a million people in our country, that is an unthinkable loss,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D- WA).
In a Senate hearing, Senators look to the nation’s top doctors and infectious disease experts on the continued fight against the spread of COVID.
“This pandemic has highlighted the need for disease agnostic investments to address the long-standing vulnerabilities and our public health system,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC.
They outline what their institutes are doing to prevent future pandemics.
“The importance of developing the next generation of coronavirus vaccines is paramount,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, director. “NIAID are referred to a vaccine that would be effective against all SARS-COVID II variants and ultimately one effective against all coronaviruses. The NIAID has issued new awards to fund research focused on designing and developing such a pan coronavirus vaccine.”
Dr. Fauci testified remotely after testing positive for COVID, and said the virus is changing and we need to keep up with it. He warns without additional COVID research and treatment funding could be detrimental.
“In order to do that, we’ve got to do better with new vaccine platforms such as nanoparticle vaccines, we cannot proceed with that unless we get additional funding,” said Dr. Fauci. “Importantly, we need to both prevent infection and transmission. We know that we cannot do that unless we get a highly effective [inaudible] or intranasal vaccine. We have a number of projects that will not be able to be funded unless we do get new resources to continue these fundings.”
Congress is looking at billions in additional COVID funding but it’s been held up in the Senate. Some worry it’s too much spending, while others said we need this relief funding for continued research and treatment.