After two years at the front of the line for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, the U.S. could soon have to begin taking a number.
WASHINGTON — For much of the past two years, America has been first in line for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Now, as drugmakers develop the next generation of therapies, the White House is warning that if Congress doesn’t act urgently the U.S. will have to take a number.
The White House this week is mounting a push for doctors to get less stingy about prescribing the antiviral pill Paxlovid, which was initially rationed for those at the highest risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19 but is now more widely available. A 20 million-dose order placed last year by the government helped boost manufacturing capacity.The drug Paxlovid against COVID.=-19 from the manufacturer Pfizer is lying on a table.
Last month the White House began cutting back shipments of monoclonal antibody treatments to states to make supplies last longer. The Biden administration has said that while the U.S. has enough vaccine doses for children under 5, once they are approved by regulators, and for fourth shots for high-risk people over 50, it doesn’t have the money to order the new generation of doses.