Biden Receives 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Dose a Day After FDA Approval... Urges Congress to Pass COVID-19 Budget

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] Joe Biden, the 79-year-old President of the United States, received his 4th dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on the 30th (local time). This followed the U.S. health authorities' approval of the 4th dose for adults aged 50 and over the day before.

According to CNN and others, President Biden received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the White House in the afternoon after delivering a speech related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This vaccination took place immediately after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the 4th dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for adults aged 50 and over the previous day. He had previously received his 3rd dose, the first booster shot, at the end of September last year.

In his speech, President Biden urged Congress to pass the COVID-19 related budget, stating, "This is not a partisan issue but a matter of medicine." He warned that if the budget is not approved, it would lead to negative national consequences such as reductions in support for COVID-19 treatments.

He pointed out, "Without new funding, the U.S. will not be able to maintain current testing capacity after June, nor supply enough vaccines for additional doses," adding, "More concerning is that if new vaccines are needed in the future to respond to new variants, there will be no sufficient budget to purchase them." The $1.5 trillion budget signed by the President earlier this month originally included $15.6 billion for COVID-19 spending but was excluded due to opposition in Congress.

Additionally, President Biden announced the establishment of a website called the 'One-Stop Shop' to help the public access vaccination, testing, treatment, and masks.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.