On Friday, President Joe Biden announced his intentions to ask Congress for increased funding to develop an updated COVID-19 vaccine for “everybody.”
The Biden administration is preparing to push Americans to receive additional vaccines, claiming waves of the COVID-19 virus are still prevalent.
“I signed off this morning on a proposal we have to present to the Congress, a request for additional funding for a new vaccine that is necessary, that works,” said Biden, adding that once the new vaccine is ready, it would be “tentatively” recommended “that everybody get it.”
The new vaccine initiative focuses on the latest version of the omicron strain, named XBB.1.5, according to Breitbart. The proposed vaccines would differ from the present combination shots, which combine the original coronavirus strain with last year’s most predominant variants.
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In preparation for the potential rollout of this vaccine update, major pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax, are actively producing doses featuring the XBB update. However, a green light from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is required, followed by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsements.
Last year, Congress declined the Biden administration’s request for $9.25 billion to counter the virus, as reported by Fox News.
According to VOA News, as of July 29, COVID-19 hospital admissions stood at 9,056, indicating a 12% uptick from the week prior. These figures, however, remain notably below previous highs.
Last September, Biden optimistically declared the coronavirus pandemic “over” but conceded, “We’re still doing a lot of work on it.”
Advocating for vaccine boosters, Biden previously encouraged Americans, “If you’re fully vaccinated, get one more COVID shot. Once a year. That’s it.”
This news article was partially created with the assistance of artificial intelligence and edited and fact-checked by a human editor.
