About the public’s health
Senate Dems unveil bill to federalize medical supply chain, boost production: “The legislation would establish a new executive officer to oversee the production of supplies and who would issue reports every week on the supplies that are needed in the fight against the coronavirus. The officer would then be required to issue purchase orders under the Defense Production Act for those needed supplies and oversee their distribution.” Since it is a Democratic initiative, the chances of passage are slim. Below is a similar Republican proposal.
Trump administration launches 'Operation Warp Speed' to accelerate vaccine development: “The Trump administration is pushing agencies to speed up the vaccine development process in the hopes of quickly coming up with an effective way to guard against the coronavirus, two people familiar with the effort confirmed Wednesday.
The push, dubbed ‘Operation Warp Speed,"‘involves the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among other government agencies, according to one official.”
Germany’s First COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Gets Under Way: Perhaps we won’t have to wait 18 months or so. “Twelve participants were dosed with BNT162 since dosing began on April 23. Approximately 200 healthy subjects will be assessed to determine the vaccine’s safety and the patients’ immune response as well as the optimal dose for further studies.
Participants with a higher risk of severe COVID-19 infection will be included later in the study.”
Dogs are being trained to sniff out coronavirus cases: The headline is self-explanatory, and yes, this story is real.
About pharma
FDA will reportedly authorize use of remdesivir for Covid-19 after trial shows 'positive effect' on recovery time: This article is a followup on yesterday’s post. “‘The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery,’ Dr. Anthony Fauci said at the White House during a meeting with President Donald Trump.”
Remdesivir: Five things to know about the antiviral drug: Good overview from the Financial Times (restricted access).