Press Release

Congressman Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, today applauded the inclusion of his Securing America from Epidemics (SAFE) Act in the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. The SAFE Act authorizes the United States to participate in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an international public-private partnership developing COVID-19 vaccine candidates and helping to lead efforts to build an international vaccine cooperation mechanism.

"It's critical that the United States work with the international community, including CEPI, to quickly develop, manufacture, and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine. We need an international framework and U.S. leadership to guarantee that – which would ensure our priority populations, like healthcare workers, receive a vaccine first," said Rep. Bera. "I applaud House leadership for including the SAFE Act and want to thank those who have raised the importance of the U.S. joining CEPI, including Ranking Member Ted Yoho and Bill and Melinda Gates. Participation in CEPI is an important first step."

Rep. Bera continued "But our work is far from over. Congress and the administration need to fund CEPI so it can accelerate its vaccine candidates. We also need to coordinate the various coronavirus vaccine efforts and make sure they're not getting in the way of each other- from Operation Warp Speed to BARDA and NIH to CEPI's. That will require the U.S. government working with international partners and industries. If that coordination doesn't happen, we're going to have a global vaccine race that could dramatically delay a vaccine and costs lives."

Click here to read the SAFE Act.

Rep. Bera also sent a bipartisan letter to the Administration on May 1 urging the U.S. to participate in and lead the international efforts to find and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine.