Johannah GrenawayThe House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan measure for emergency funding Wednesday to fight the spread of the coronavirus. The vote was 415-2. House and Senate Congressional leaders agreed on the deal earlier in the day.
Here's how the House's $8.3 billion measure breaks down: More than $3 billion dollars will go to the research and development of vaccines and other treatments. About $2 billion dollars will go to public health funding for the state and local levels, while $1 billion dollars will go towards pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. $435 million dollars will support overseas health systems for prevention, preparedness and responding to the coronavirus with an additional $300 million dollars for humanitarian needs. Another $61 million dollars will go towards medical countermeasures and keeping up with potential shortages.
Now, the measure heads to the Senate. If passed there, President Donald Trump is expected to sign it before the end of this week.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Johns Hopkins University reported at least 11 deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. with more than 150 reported cases.
