Sen. Chuck Schumer called on Sunday for the coronavirus vaccine currently in the works to be fully covered by Medicare and made available to senior citizens as part of the upcoming federal legislation to fight what is possibly becoming a global pandemic.

“The novel coronavirus shows us it’s critical to make vaccines available to susceptible groups quickly. The more you dither, the more people delay, the more people say ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to come up with the money’ the greater the danger of the coronavirus spreading.” Schumer said.

Vaccinating seniors will help deter the spread of the virus among the rest of the population, Schumer said, adding that the elderly shouldn’t have to “make the choice between shelling out and going without.”

“I think all vaccines should be covered by Medicare because they save the overall health system money. But that’s a bigger and longer fight,” Schumer said during a press conference at his Manhattan office on 3rd Avenue. “To have this vaccine covered needs to be done immediately.”

The White House asked Congress for $2.5 billion for its effort to stem the spread of the virus and treat people who may become infected, while Schumer proposed allocating $8.5 billion.

The senator said the emergency spending bill could be unveiled as early as Monday or Tuesday, and hopes that it will pass the House and Senate within the next two weeks.