Congressman David Schweikert introduced a bill that would provide a prize for the successful development of a vaccine “to prevent, treat, or mitigate opioid, cocaine, methamphetamine, or alcohol use disorder.”

The draft legislation, H.R. 7827, referred to the committee on March 26, would also require the health and human services secretary to give “priority review” for regulatory approval to any anti-drug vaccine candidate and reward the first successful applicant with public funds.

While vaccines are usually associated with providing increased immunity against pathogens, researchers are already studying whether they could use the same biological mechanisms to stop intoxicants from having an effect on the brain.

The introduction of a bill that hopes to accelerate that work comes at a time when opioids—especially synthetic ones like fentanyl—are creating a growing health crisis in the U.S. that lawmakers are struggling to find ways to deal with. According to official figures, there were nearly 107,000 overdose deaths in 2021, around 66 percent of which were attributed to fentanyl.