CDC Money for Covid Tracking, Tests Has Been Stalled for Months (1)

The bulk of a $1 billion funding package intended to help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fight the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. has remained unspent since being authorized more than five months ago, according to people familiar with the matter.

The funding, part of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, also known as the PPP, was set aside by Congress on April 24 for “surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory capacity expansion, contact tracing,” improvements to data systems and boosting testing for Covid-19.

Robert Redfield

Photographer: Andrew Harnik/AP Photo/Bloomberg

Trump administration officials directed $200 million of the money to a $300 million ad campaign about the ...