But there is a big hitch: Much of the plan requires funding from Congress. The administration recently told congressional officials it could need as much as $30 billion to sustain the pandemic response. One outside adviser to the White House, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, said in an interview that the United States needed to spend much more — on the order of $100 billion over the next year, and billions more after that — to be fully prepared.

“Congress has to think of this as an investment in biosecurity for the country,” said Dr. Emanuel, who led a team of experts in developing a far-reaching coronavirus response plan that it shared with the White House. “We should not be penny-wise and dollar-foolish.”

The strategy comes on the heels of the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night and as new U.S. cases decline, though deaths remain high. President Biden used the speech to spotlight a key component: a new “test to treat” initiative that he said would allow Americans to get tested at a pharmacy and, if they are positive, “receive antiviral pills on the spot at no cost.”