Two years into the pandemic, Congress is poised to repeat what will almost certainly be a deadly mistake: waiting until it’s too late before investing in prevention.
The United States is experiencing a relative lull in covid-19 infections. This is the ideal time to prepare for the next surge, which is what the Biden administration is trying to do. It has asked Congress for a reasonable $22.5 billion to purchase treatments, secure boosters and ensure that there is sufficient testing in case of new variants. This is a tiny fraction of the nearly $6 trillion allocated thus far on pandemic relief and will surely pay for itself many times over.
