Government

Billions in Hospital Virus Aid Rested on Compliance With Private Vendor --NY Times

Mon, 2020-08-24 10:13 — mike kraft

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration tied billions of dollars in badly needed coronavirus medical funding this spring to hospitals’ cooperation with a private vendor collecting data for a new Covid-19 database that bypassed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The highly unusual demand, aimed at hospitals in coronavirus hot spots using funds passed by Congress with no preconditions, alarmed some hospital administrators and even some federal health officials.

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INVESTIGATION: Meatpacking Companies Reportedly Dismissed Years of Warnings but Now Say Nobody Could Have Prepared for COVID-19

Sun, 2020-08-23 18:55 — mike kraft

Meatpacking Companies Dismissed Years of Warnings but Now Say Nobody Could Have Prepared for COVID-19 In documents dating to 2006, government officials predicted that a pandemic would threaten critical businesses and warned them to prepare. Meatpacking companies largely ignored them, and now nearly… Michael Grabell,Bernice Yeung ProPublica

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Trump announces plasma treatment authorized for COVID-19

Sun, 2020-08-23 17:56 — mike kraft

Trump announces plasma treatment authorized for COVID-19 WASHINGTON (AP) — After expressing frustration at the slow pace of approval for coronavirus treatments, President Donald Trump announced Sunday the emergency authorization of convalescent plasma... AP NEWS

WASHINGTON (AP) — After expressing frustration at the slow pace of approval for coronavirus treatments, President Donald Trump announced Sunday the emergency authorization of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 patients.

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Experts flag risks in India's use of rapid tests for virus

Sun, 2020-08-23 09:37 — mike kraft

Experts flag risks in India's use of rapid tests for virus NEW DELHI, India (AP) — In June, India began using cheaper, faster but less accurate tests to scale up testing for the coronavirus — a strategy that the United States is now... AP NEWS

NEW DELHI, India (AP) — In June, India began using cheaper, faster but less accurate tests to scale up testing for the coronavirus — a strategy that the United States is now considering.

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Nearly 70,000 lives could be saved in the next 3 months if more Americans wore masks, researchers say

Sun, 2020-08-23 09:23 — mike kraft

Nearly 70,000 lives could be saved in the next 3 months if more Americans wore masks, researchers say Another 134,000 people could die in the US from Covid-19 by December if no further safety measures are mandated -- and the actual number probably would be much worse if mandates are relaxed, researchers say. Christina Maxouris and Alaa Elassar, CNN CNN

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WHO says children aged 12 and over should wear masks like adults

Sat, 2020-08-22 15:17 — mike kraft

WHO says children aged 12 and over should wear masks like adults The World Health Organization (WHO) said children aged 12 and over should wear masks to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic under the same conditions as adults, while children between six and 11 should wear them on a risk-based approach. Reuters Editorial U.S.

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Difficulties with clinical trials.

Sat, 2020-08-22 12:00 — mike kraft

'Give me the real stuff': What's taking COVID-19 clinical trials so long? "We were told to get this answer as fast as we possibly can," one researcher said. YahooNews

Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., it remains unclear whether two of the most promising treatments actually work.

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WHO chief hopes coronavirus pandemic will last less than two years

Fri, 2020-08-21 14:03 — mike kraft

WHO chief hopes coronavirus pandemic will last less than two years The World Health Organization hopes the coronavirus pandemic will be shorter than the 1918 Spanish flu and last less than two years, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday, if the world unites and succeeds in finding a vaccine. Stephanie Nebehay U.S.

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Top FDA official says would resign if agency rubber-stamps an unproven COVID-19 vaccine--Reuters

Fri, 2020-08-21 13:43 — mike kraft

Exclusive: Top FDA official says would resign if agency rubber-stamps an unproven COVID-19 vaccine A top U.S. health regulator who will help decide the fate of a coronavirus vaccine has vowed to resign if the Trump administration approves a vaccine before it is shown to be safe and effective, Reuters has learned. Dan Levine U.S.

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How Feds Decide On Remdesivir Shipments To States Remains Mysterious

Fri, 2020-08-21 11:06 — mike kraft

By the second week in July, COVID-19 cases in North Carolina were climbing fast.

With nearly 19,000 diagnoses over the previous two weeks, only five states recorded more new coronavirus cases than North Carolina did.

"Today is our highest day of hospitalizations and our second-highest day of cases," Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, announced on July 9, standing behind a podium in the state's Emergency Operations Center. "Please continue to treat the virus like the deadly threat that it is."

One of the few treatment options for patients seriously ill with COVID-19 is the antiviral drug remdesivir. Authorized by the Food and Drug Administration in May for emergency use in the pandemic, remdesivir is in short supply. The federal government has taken on the responsibility for deciding where vials of the medicine should go.

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