The White House is preparing to request emergency coronavirus funding from Congress, but the $1 billion potentially being sought might not be enough, according to Politico.
The White House has thus far held off a larger request for funds to contain the coronavirus in the U.S., but officials fear even $1 billion will fall short of what is needed for potential vaccines and testing, two sources told Politico.
The plan is still in the works, however, so more funding could be requested by the White House before it is officially made in the coming days, according to the report.
The coronavirus has infected nearly 78,000 people in 29 countries, and more than 2,300 have died.
Thus far, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has prepared $136 million to fight the outbreak in the U.S., but Democrats have pressed the administration for far more, Politico reported.
The White House's hesitation revolves around the hope the virus burns itself out before summer.
The Obama administration requested $6 billion emergency funds to fight Ebola in 2014, when more than 11,000 in West Africa died and about a dozen U.S. citizens were sickened from it, according to the report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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