The request was made to Congress on Tuesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Becerra and the administration reportedly would like the money included in Congress' omnibus spending bill that is supposed to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal 2022.
Politico reports, that an HHS spokesperson confirmed that Becerra expressed to lawmakers "the need for additional resources to support securing more life-saving treatments and vaccines, sustaining testing capacity, and investing in research and development of next-generation vaccines."
