“The end of a tragic, crippling pandemic is in sight and Senate Republicans can’t get around to authorizing any money to complete the job.”
By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 12-14-2020
Margaret Klessens, a 96-year-old World War II veteran, gets the COVID vaccine in Massachusetts. Photo: Dr. Sanjay Gupta/Twitter
As U.S. distribution of the newly approved Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine kicked off Sunday with the shipment of millions of doses to sites across the nation, Senate Republicans faced mounting outrage for continuing to block federal funds that crisis-ravaged states and localities desperately need to carry out an unparalleled mass inoculation effort.
Facing large budget shortfalls due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lack of relief from the deadlocked Congress, state and local governments will soon be tasked with executing a rapid vaccination campaign that will require large quantities of supplies as well as new clinics, additional workers, and public outreach—all of which will cost money that states and localities fear they don’t have. Continue reading
