America to Spend $5 Billion to Accelerate Development of New COVID Vaccines

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and a Biden administration official announced that "the U.S. government intends to spend more than five billion dollars in an effort to expedite the development of new vaccines and medicines for COVID-19." The Health Department spokesperson stated on Monday, "While our vaccines remain effective in preventing severe illness and death, they are less capable of reducing infections and transmission over time. New variants and waning immunity may continue to challenge our healthcare systems in the coming years." He noted that "injecting at least five billion dollars will help stimulate scientific progress in public health aimed at developing safe and effective tools." The Biden administration official explained that "collaboration between the public and private sectors has accelerated the development of the next generation of vaccines and medicines." The investment, dubbed the "Next Generation Project," was first announced by officials from the White House and the Department of Health in an interview with the Washington Post, aiming to provide better protection against coronaviruses that may pose future threats, including the virus that causes COVID-19.