Target: Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate Minority Leader
Goal: Fund research and development of enhanced COVID vaccines.
Hong Kong and India have both taken major steps forward in the development of a next-generation COVID vaccine that could offer significant protection not only against serious illness but against overall infection. The former just had one of the vaccine prototypes approved for emergency use on the Chinese mainland. The latter cleared a big hurdle with a major health agency. Both of these advancements represent a progression that will not be available in America anytime soon: the nasal vaccine.
This type of vaccine is administered through the nose, like a nasal spray. It’s prized by scientists because it better shields the upper respiratory tract and the nasal passages, where the coronavirus first lands. Therefore, it has the power to play a much stronger role in curbing initial infections. This vaccine type also has the advantage of being easier to administer.
A Harvard study has recently supported the promise of nasal vaccines, and scientists largely back its effectiveness. Unfortunately, development is at a standstill in the United States because of red tape involving how much of currently existing vaccines scientists may use in their research. In addition, a lack of investment in the halls of Congress is not providing the needed funding.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people could still die from this illness in the months ahead. Sign the petition below to demand obstructers in the Senate get their priorities straight.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Senator McConnell,
China is about to leapfrog over the United States in vaccine development and scientific progress. The nasal COVID vaccine that recently gained emergency use authorization could be a game-changer in preventing infections and finally putting this pandemic in the past. Yet because of your party’s unwillingness to invest in funding for COVID research, the same promising development in America is at least two years away.
You prided yourselves on Operation Warp Speed. Now you want to transform into Operation Slow-Down. Is this really the message you want to send to the rest of the world and to the families of the tens of thousands of people who are forecast to succumb to this virus by the end of winter? They deserve leaders who care and who will invest in them and their futures. Do better and stop the obstruction that will cost countless irreplaceable lives.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Elisha Dawkins
663 Signatures