White House Requests $32.5 Billion in Additional Funding for Ukraine, COVID-19

The White House requested $10 billion for Ukraine and $22.5 billion for ongoing COVID-19 efforts, ahead of a March 11^th funding deadline.

The Ukraine related funding is destined for humanitarian, security and economic assistance for the country and Central European partners of the US.

The COVID-19 funding is destined for oral anti-viral treatments, monoclonal antibodies and pre-exposure prophylaxis, as well as testing initiatives, treatments and vaccines for the uninsured.

The first FDA-approved oral anti-viral treatment was Pfizer’s Paxlovid, which was authorized in December.

“This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and promises to make antiviral treatment more accessible to patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19,” said Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, at the time. . 

Funding is also intended for work on a next generation vaccine, which will protect against future variants and global vaccination efforts.