Over last 18 years, there have been three
global novel coronavirus outbreaks
Washington (February
4, 2021) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today reintroduced legislation to
support comprehensive research for the creation of a universal coronavirus
vaccine or therapeutic. The legislation calls for a total investment of $1 billion
– $250 million for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2024 – for the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes
of Health. To date, more than two million people worldwide have lost their
lives to the coronavirus, 445,000 in the United States, and millions more are
fighting this deadly virus every day. Over last 18 years, there have been three
global novel coronavirus outbreaks – SARS, MERS, and SARS-CoV-2.
“COVID-19
is the current biothreat we must defeat, but it will not be the last. We must
be better prepared in order to avoid the devastating impacts that have been
caused by this novel coronavirus,” said
Senator Markey. “Investing the resources to find a vaccine that prevents all
coronaviruses would be a milestone for global health and safety. The United
States can be a global leader in developing a universal coronavirus vaccine or
therapeutic that prevents or contains the next biothreat. We have a responsibility
to provide dedicated and robust resources to our greatest minds in order to
prevent this unimaginable loss from ever occurring again.”
A copy of
the legislation can be found
HERE.
On
February 3, 2020 Senator Markey
queried NIAID about its
efforts to design and produce a universal coronavirus vaccine. Then NIAID
administrator Dr. Anthony Fauci previously said of the current outbreak that a
universal coronavirus vaccine is possible and worth considering.
