Senate Democrats propose $21B funding for next phase of COVID-19 response
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Senate Democrats introduced a $21B emergency supplemental funding bill on Thursday to respond to the next phase of the pandemic, including the threat of new variants of the coronavirus. 
The measure unveiled by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Christopher Coons (D-Del.) includes $5B in emergency funding for global COVID-19 response.

âOur efforts to stop this disease abroad to protect us here at home are quickly running out of funding, and we are running out of time to act,â Sen. Leahy, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, noted.
The new funding will channel $16B for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, including $9B for the Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority to spend on R&D and procurement of measures to address COVID-19 such as vaccines, therapeutics, and tests.
Notably, $6.25B will be allocated to counter new variants and a potential COVID-19 surge, while $750M will be earmarked for studies targeting emerging coronavirus strains and to expand domestic manufacturing capacity.
Leading COVID-19 vaccine makers in the U.S.: Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)/ BioNTech (BNTX), Moderna (MRNA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Novavax (NVAX).
Developers of COVID-19 treatments: Gilead (GILD), Eli Lilly (LLY), Regeneron (REGN), Pfizer (PFE), Merck (MRK).
Largest U.S. manufacturers of rapid COVID-19 antigen tests: Becton, Dickinson (BDX), Quidel (QDEL), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY)
The proposed bill comes days after the White House conducted a âsummitâ on the next generation of COVID shots this week.