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 The funding, which will begin to be distributed in the coming weeks,
will focus on manufacturers of the inputs used in COVID-19 vaccine
production as well as facilities that fill and package vaccine
vials, White House COVID adviser Jeffrey Zients said during a news
conference.
"The investments we are making, the $3 billion, are in U.S.
companies that will expand their capacity for critical supplies,"
Zients said.
He added that areas of focus will include lipids, bioreactor bags,
tubing, needles, syringes, and personal protective equipment. The
White House has not yet selected specific companies to receive the
funds.
U.S. demand for COVID-19 vaccines remains high as the White House
prepares to begin offering a third booster shot to Americans later
this month, pending a regulator greenlight. The United States also
plans to give hundreds of millions of shots to other countries
during the remainder of the year.
Top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci added that he would
not be surprised if a third dose became standard for COVID-19
vaccines that originally were expected to require two shots.
[to top of second column] |
 U.S. cases of COVID-19 have
surged to a seven-day average of more than
150,000 per day, up from less than 10,000 in
June, according to federal data, as the
contagious new Delta variant continues to
circulate. The daily average of
COVID-19 deaths has risen this week to more than 950 from around 900
last week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director
Rochelle Walensky said.
Fauci downplayed concerns about a new COVID-19 variant known as Mu,
or B.1.621, that some scientists are concerned could be resistant to
vaccines.
"Even when you have variants that do diminish somewhat the efficacy
of vaccines, the vaccines still are quite effective against variants
of that type," Fauci said.
(Reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Ahmed Aboulenein and
Lisa Lambert in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Leslie Adler and Mark
Porter)
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