Feds provide $7.4B for public health; school nurses in plan

The government is providing $7.4 billion to expand the nation’s public health capacity by hiring school nurses to vaccinate kids and creating a service corps around health care as well as bolstering traditional disease detection efforts

WASHINGTON -- The government will provide $7.4 billion to expand the nation's public health capacity by hiring school nurses to vaccinate kids and creating a service corps around health care as well as bolstering traditional disease detection efforts, White House officials said Thursday. Biden administration coronavirus testing coordinator Carole Johnson said it's part of a strategy to respond to immediate needs in the COVID-19 pandemic while investing to break the cycle of ‘boom and bust’ financing that traditionally has hampered the U.S. response to health emergencies. “We really see this as funding that can help end the pandemic and help us prevent the next one,” Johnson told The Associated Press. The money was authorized by Congress in President Joe Biden's coronavirus response law. Officials are now acting to pump it out to states and communities through the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About $4.4 billion will go to immediate priorities in fighting the pandemic.