White House to work with Congress on additional COVID funds -Zients

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House will work with Congress in coming weeks to secure additional funding needed to prepare and manage COVID now and long-term, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters on Wednesday.

Zients did not give a specific amount that the Biden administration would request but said it would work to finalize a figure with U.S. lawmakers in the weeks ahead.

(Reporting by Mike Erman and Susan Heavey)