A Senate stopgap funding bill cut over $27 billion in aid for COVID-19 and monkeypox programs, dealing another blow to the Biden administration after Congress failed to advance multiple COVID-19 funding packages since 2021, Healthcare Dive reports.
The funding bill, meant to avert a government shutdown, advanced in a 72-23 vote Tuesday night. It needs to clear a final vote in the Senate, as well as a vote in the House of Representatives before landing on President Biden’s desk for signing.
HHS has sounded the alarm as it had not received any federal funding since last year while battling both monkeypox and COVID-19. In August, the HHS announced that funding for free COVID-19 vaccines could run out as soon as January, adding that the agency hadn’t received funding for “more than 530 days.” Read more.
