Senate Funding Package Includes $20 Billion for COVID-19 Countermeasures

Senate Republicans have proposed a COVID-19 relief package that includes $20 billion for HHS’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.

The proposed HEALS Act also includes $6 billion for vaccine distribution and $2 billion to bolster the Strategic National Stockpile.

In addition, the package would allocate $1.24 billion for the National Institutes of Health’s Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) initiative to accelerate development of COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.