INDIANA – More than $60 billion may have been paid out in fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report released Monday by the US Government Accountability Office.
The watchdog agency, however, warned that the estimate has limitations and should be interpreted with caution. The actual amount of pandemic unemployment benefits fraud may be “substantially higher.”
The House Oversight Committee said it will launch an investigation into “the rampant waste of taxpayer dollars in Covid relief programs” starting on February 1.
Separately, the FDA wants to simplify the Covid-19 vaccine process to look more like what happens with the flu vaccine.
That could include streamlining the vaccine composition, immunization schedules, and periodic updates of Covid-19 vaccines.
The FDA said it expects to assess circulating strains of the coronavirus at least annually and decide in June which strains to select for the fall season, much like the process to update annual flu vaccines.
New FDA documents explain most people may need only one dose of the latest Covid-19 shot to restore protection, regardless of how many shots they’ve gotten before. The agency’s independent vaccine advisers are scheduled to meet later this week to discuss and vote on the future of Covid-19 vaccine regimens.
