President Biden announced on Friday his intention to seek further funding from Congress to support the development of a new COVID-19 vaccine.
He indicated that he might request a universal vaccination, which would include both those who have previously been vaccinated and those who have not.
During his time in the Lake Tahoe region, President Biden was approached by a reporter on Friday for insights on the surge in COVID-19 cases and the emergence of a new variant.
"Yes, I can,” he said. "I signed off this morning on a proposal we have to present to Congress, a request for additional funding for a new vaccine that is necessary and effective."
"Tentatively, it is recommended that it will likely be recommended everybody get it no matter whether they’ve gotten it before or not."
It is notable that a funding request of $40 million, submitted to Congress by the White House on August 11, did not explicitly mention funding for Coronavirus-related matters.
According to a report in the Associated Press, the Biden administration is anticipating the development of a revised COVID-19 vaccine that specifically targets a particular variant of the omicron strain, known as XBB.1.5.
Shares in major COVID-19 vaccine makers – Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX), Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), and Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) – were all trading modestly higher in pre-open Monday trade.