White House Says It Doesn't Have Funds To Provide 4th COVID Shot For Free

The White House says that it has exhausted its COVID-19 funds and does not have the money to purchase additional COVID-19 vaccines for a second booster dose to distribute to all Americans for free.

Officials said there is enough money to cover the fourth shot for people over the age of 65 and the initial two doses for children under five.

"Right now, we don't have enough money for fourth doses, if they're called for," White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said during an upcoming appearance on the podcast In The Bubble With Andy Slavitt, that was shared with the Washington Post. "We don't have the funding if we were to need a variant-specific vaccine in the future."

Both Pfizer and Moderna have asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize a second booster dose of their COVID vaccines. Pfizer's request was for people 65 and older, while Moderna has requested the authorization for all adults.

Currently, a second booster dose is only authorized for immunocompromised individuals who have a high risk of severe infection.

Zients said that lawmakers can solve the issue and guarantee that all Americans will be able to receive another booster dose free of charge by passing a $15 billion funding package that has been stalled in Congress.