Experts say US suspension of COVID aid will prolong pandemic

By MARIA CHENG and CHRIS MEGERIAN
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — In the latest Senate package targeted at stopping the coronavirus, U.S. lawmakers dropped nearly all funding for curbing the virus beyond American borders, a move many health experts describe as dangerously short-sighted. They warn the suspension of COVID-19 aid for poorer countries could ultimately spur the kind of unchecked transmission needed for the next worrisome variant to emerge. Although the U.S. has been among the biggest contributors to funding the global response to the pandemic, that will soon change. The new budget means many American-funded vaccination campaigns in dozens of countries, including Zambia, Ivory Coast and Mali, will come to a grinding halt.