National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday on CNN’s “The Lead” that the Biden administration really needs the money to fight the new BA.2 variant of COVID, which he predicated could cause a surge of cases earlier in the week.
Anchor Jake Tapper said, “Congress just left town without approving new funding for COVID response. It is a Democratically controlled Congress. Are you worried about running into problems with testing and booster supplies?”
Fauci said, “Oh definitely, Jake. We really do need money. It is not just talk saying we need it. Over a period of time between now and the next several months, things are going to run out. What will run out is tests will run out, the antibodies will run out, the antivirals will run out. The studies that we’re doing to determine the best approach toward the next level of boosting, we don’t have the money for. So these are things we really need to take it seriously. I would hope the Congress, which up to this point has been very generous with supporting what we need and supporting it well. But now is not the time to stop that. We really do need to get the money that has been requested. I do hope that comes through.”
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