Repeating Previous Warnings, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi Calls For Dramatic Expansion Of US Vaccine Aid In Response To Emergence Of The B.1.1.529. “Omicron” Variant In South Africa

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, co-founder and co-chair of the COVID-19 Global Vaccination Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the emergence in South Africa of the B.1.1.529. Omicron Variant:

"The emergence of the B.1.1.529. Omicron variant in South Africa is a deadly new threat to our efforts to end the pandemic and a disturbing reminder of the ongoing dangers posed by the potential emergence of new and vaccine-resistant COVID-19 variants. It is imperative that the United States and our allies dramatically expand our global vaccination efforts to meet the scale of the threat. While the $1.3 billion in vaccine aid funding we passed in the House version of the Build Back Better Act will make a difference, that funding is only a step in the right direction for the much larger fight ahead. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to aggressively increase the funding allocated to vaccine aid to meet the challenges before us. My caucus and I have repeatedly warned of the next Greek-lettered variant that could threaten all of us, and now here it is in the Omicron variant.

Today, a dismally low 5.6% of the population of low-income countries have received their first dose of vaccine. Only 28.3% of South Africans have received at least one dose, and a paltry 10.7% of the entire population of Africa has received the same. Despite the success of vaccination programs across many of the world's wealthiest countries, billions of people around the world have still not received a single dose, endangering their lives, and contributing to the risks of new, deadlier outbreaks even in the most vaccinated countries. So long as the COVID-19 virus and its variants are allowed to thrive anywhere due to low vaccination rates, the threat of the pandemic to the rest of the world remains. That threat can only be defeated through effectively vaccinating the world, including the poorest nations. This pandemic has brought new weight to President Kennedy's entreaty sixty years ago that, ‘If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.'"

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi is one of the leading voices in Congress calling to expand the global access to COVID-19 vaccines. On June 8th, Congressman Krishnamoorthi introduced the NOVID Act, a detailed blueprint to invest $34 billion in global vaccine manufacturing and distribution to reach herd immunity in all 92 COVAX countries, with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). On August 4th, the above Members and Representative Malinowski penned a letter to President Biden, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with 116 Members of Congress requesting the NOVID Act provisions be included in any reconciliation package. On August 10th, 175 public health experts separately wrote to the President demanding that he act immediately to invest in global vaccination.

As founder and co-chair of the COVID-19 Global Vaccination Caucus, Congressman Krishnamoorthi championed the inclusion of $1.3 billion in the Build Back Better Act to support global and domestic vaccine production capacity and capabilities, including through the construction of new manufacturing facilities or the expansion or modernization of existing facilities. This funding can also be used to address supply chain issues pertaining to the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines.