The President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. won’t have sufficient Covid vaccine shots in the fall to guarantee free and easy access to Covid for all Americans, if Congress doesn’t pass the $22.5 million additional funding requested by the Administration.

Biden stated that the U.S. is able to supply enough to provide access for those who are eligible to receive fourth shots. For people 50 years and over, and for certain individuals with impaired immune systems younger than that, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended an additional Pfizer/Moderna dose.

Biden, now 79, was given his fourth live dose after his comments.

The president urged Congress to take action to protect the United States from another outbreak of disease as the nation enters an entirely new phase in its vaccine push.

Biden declared that Americans are now living again. That is something we cannot surrender. Please act, Congress. Act immediately. Inaction can lead to severe consequences that will only get worse over time.

Since January’s peak, new infections have dropped by more than 90% and hospitalizations are down to less than 10%. However, infections have slowed down and stopped in recent times as BA.2, an even more contagious variant of Covid has overtaken the U.S. The subvariant is now the predominant version of Covid. BA.2 already has caused waves of new infection in Europe and China.

Anthony Fauci (White House chief medical advisor) stated that BA.2 could cause an increase in infection rates in the U.S. earlier this month. Fauci does not anticipate another spike in cases.

According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of Washington, infections are expected to continue falling through the summer and spring. Ali Mokdad (an epidemiologist at IHME) said that another rise could be seen in the fall, as people migrate inside to avoid the cold weather and their immunity decreases.

Democrats and Republicans failed to come up with a bipartisan solution for $15 billion of Covid funding. That amount was lower than that requested by the White House. Republicans are seeking to cut funds that have been appropriated for local and state governments in order to pay for any additional spending. This demand was rejected by Democrats.

To reach a compromise, negotiations are continuing in both the Senate and House.

Biden further warned America that it will not have enough money for antiviral medications, surge testing and monoclonal antibody treatment in the event of another Covid wave.

He also launched a brand new government website. covid.govHere, Americans will find information about the best places to get treatments, vaccinations and tests.