INSIGHTi

Funding for COVID-19 Vaccines:
An Overview
December 15, 2020
On December 11, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use
Authorization (EUA) for Pfizer/BioNTech’s Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. Several
other COVID-19 vaccines are currently in clinical trials or under review; additional vaccines may become
available by the end of 2020. Moderna has announced preliminary Phase 3 results and is under EUA
consideration. As a part of Operation Warp Speed (OWS)—the Trump Administration’s COVID-19
medical countermeasure initiative led by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the
Department of Defense (DOD)—the U.S. government has entered into several contracts with vaccine
manufacturers to purchase hundreds of millions of doses (including Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna’s
vaccine) and has also supported manufacturing and procurement of related supplies. Other OWS vaccine
efforts include planning and implementation of a nationwide immunization program, public awareness,
and vaccine data tracking, among others.
OWS has thus far been financed largely by emergency funding provided in the coronavirus supplemental
appropriations acts. To date, not much supplemental funding has been appropriated specifically for
COVID-19 vaccine-related efforts. Instead, funding has been provided to several accounts that may be
used toward relevant activities. Much of the HHS supplemental funding is available for multiple years or
until expended. In addition, HHS transfer authorities in the laws allow for transfers between funds in
certain HHS accounts. This Insight provides overviews of such appropriations for selected vaccine-related
activities and available information on allocations and obligations. It does not address health care
financing issues related to vaccine administration. As Congress considers regular FY2021 discretionary
appropriations and potential additional emergency appropriations, it may consider whether to provide
additional vaccine-related appropriations.
Vaccine Research and Development, Manufacturing, and Purchase
COVID-19 vaccine research and development (R&D), manufacturing, and purchasing efforts are largely
supported by OWS, which represents a collaboration among several federal agencies, including the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority
(BARDA), DOD, and others. As of October 29, 2020, OWS was supporting eight investigational
vaccines, with six contractual partnerships announced. The terms of the contracts vary by vaccine, but
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generally they support the development (including clinical testing), manufacturing, and/or purchase of
vaccine doses. Some vaccine R&D is supported by NIH, BARDA, and DOD separately from the OWS
efforts.
Appropriations
In two of the four coronavirus supplemental appropriations acts (P.L. 116-123 and P.L. 116-136), funding
was made available for vaccine-related efforts to accounts at NIH, DOD, and the Public Health and Social
Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF). (PHSSEF, the parent account for BARDA, is an account for the
HHS Secretary that funds additional emergency preparedness and response activities and is regularly used
for one-time and pass-through funding to address public health emergencies.) In particular, up to roughly
$30 billion (accounting for set-asides and transfers) in the PHSSEF account may be used for vaccine
development, manufacturing, and purchase. These funds are also designated for other emergency response
activities, such as medical supply procurement for the Strategic National Stockpile, supporting health care
surge response, and the development, purchase, and manufacturing of therapeutics and diagnostics.
Allocations and Obligations
According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published on November 30, as of
October 31, 2020, HHS had allocated about $13.9 billion in coronavirus supplemental funding for
“vaccines.” Of this allocated amount, about $13.3 billion had been obligated and $1.28 billion had been
expended.
According to a separate November GAO report, as of October 15, OWS had announced contract awards
to support six vaccines, with obligations totaling at least $10 billion and a total estimated value of at least
$18 billion, with awards made by both DOD and BARDA.
BARDA is supporting COVID-19 vaccine-related efforts both within and separately from OWS. Detailed
funding data provided by HHS to CRS shows that, as of October 31, 2020,
 $9.6 billion of BARDA funding has been allocated for COVID-19 vaccine-related efforts
as a part of OWS, and
 $5.7 billion of BARDA funding has been allocated for COVID-19 vaccine-related efforts
separately from OWS.
BARDA contracts have been used to support the development, manufacturing, and purchase of COVID-
19 vaccines.
For NIH, HHS funding data show that about $150 million of supplemental budget authority available to
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has been allocated for vaccine-related
research. NIH funding data are often not categorized by research area; therefore, a total for NIH-
supported COVID-19 vaccine-related research is not currently available.
The November 30 GAO report also states that DOD has allocated about $1.64 billion in funding from the
CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) toward a medical countermeasures development portfolio. DOD has five
COVID-19 vaccine development projects underway.
Vaccine Deployment and Distribution
A vaccine distribution program, led by OWS with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
has begun for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. CDC has been working with state and other jurisdictions to
plan and implement the immunization program. Activities include, among other things, vaccine
transportation and delivery; provider enrollment and training; education and awareness; preparing for

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vaccine storage and handling (including procuring dry ice for storage); and readying data collection
systems to track vaccine inventory, doses administered (through Immunization Information Systems), and
safety/adverse event monitoring.
Appropriations
In two COVID-19 supplemental appropriations acts (P.L. 116-123 and P.L. 116-136), CDC received a
total of $6.5 billion (of which $800 million was designated global response funding). Much of this
funding is available broadly “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus, domestically and
internationally.” Some of this funding is being used for domestic vaccine-related activities, as well as for
support to jurisdictions’ public health agencies, including for testing, contact tracing, and surveillance.
Funding in DOD and PHSSEF accounts may also be relevant.
Allocations and Obligations
CRS could not identify an exact amount of allocations and obligations provided for vaccine distribution-
related activities. As of October 31, 2020, about $3.5 billion of the total $5.7 billion available to CDC had
been obligated, according to HHS funding data. CDC has funded several activities to prepare for and
implement the vaccine distribution campaign. It has awarded a contract to a company, McKesson, to
manage the nationwide vaccine distribution effort and announced a partnership with commercial
pharmacies for providing vaccines to long-term care facility residents. It has also awarded grants to state
and other jurisdictions under an existing immunization cooperative agreement and for other
demonstration programs to support preparation for a vaccine campaign. DOD has assisted with logistics
planning. Other agencies are to manage vaccine distribution efforts among their employees and covered
populations (e.g., the Indian Health Service [IHS] and the Department of Veterans Affairs [VA]), in
collaboration with the nationwide effort.
In terms of expected spending, the HHS CARES Act spend plan does not identify planned vaccine
distribution-related spending. An HHS response to questions from the National Governors Association
indicates that states and other jurisdictions would receive an additional $140 million by December 15,
2020. It also indicates further spending for “expanding vaccine safety systems, connecting vaccine
information systems, centralized distribution costs and support to state and local communication
programs to encourage vaccination.”


Author Information

Kavya Sekar

Analyst in Health Policy




Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of

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