Biden vows to ramp up COVID-19 vaccine distribution with $1.9T stimulus package

President-elect Joe Biden has announced a proposal for a $1.9 trillion economic rescue package that includes $415 billion to fight the pandemic, including boosting COVID-19 vaccine deployment. Of that latter total, some $20 billion would be invested in a national vaccination program to establish community vaccination centers across the country, including mobile vaccination units in rural areas. Another $30 billion would cover supplies and personal protective equipment. 

The possibility of a Senate trial in Biden’s first 100 days in office could be a roadblock for the plan. 

Nevertheless, Biden aims to have 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in his first 100 days in office. 

Biden’s plan also earmarks $50 billion for COVID-19 testing and would strengthen the nation’s use of genomic testing to track SARS-CoV-2 mutations. 

To date, there have been more than 30,000,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses distributed in the U.S., with roughly one-third of that total receiving the first vaccine dose.

Biden also has vowed to invoke the Defense Production Act to bolster COVID-19 vaccine production. 

Overall, the plan would be considerably larger than the December stimulus, which called for $20 billion for vaccine procurement and $12 billion for vaccine distribution and adding to the Strategic National Stockpile. The stimulus also invested $22 billion in COVID-19 testing and tracing. 

It took lawmakers seven months to reach that deal. 

In related news, Politico has reported that President Trump has asked for a $4 billion reduction in funding for COVID-19 vaccination from the organization GAVI, a public-private partnership dedicated to vaccinating developing nations.