remember how Barr sent his goons over price gouges of PPE? Yeah, good times... https://www.businessinsider.com/cor...s-812m-contract-to-small-virginia-firm-2020-5 The Trump administration gave a drug-making contract worth up to $812 million to a small Virginia firm founded less than 6 months ago The Trump administration has granted a $812 million contract to a small Virginia firm to boost US production of pharmaceuticals. The firm, Phlow, was only founded in January, and describes itself as a "public benefit pharmaceutical manufacturing company." Its CEO, Dr Eric Edwards, told the Associated Press that Phlow's mission is to make the US drug supply chain less reliant on other countries. According to Stat News, Edwards has a checkered history in the pharmaceutical industry. The Trump administration says Phlow's mission has been made more urgent by the coronavirus pandemic. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told The Wall Street Journal he had bonded with a company board member over his China skepticism after she read his book. The Trump administration has handed a $812 million contract to a small Virginia firm to boost US production of anti-coronavirus drugs and reduce reliance on foreign pharmaceuticals supply chains. Phlow, the company in question, was founded in January 2020, which means that it is about to turn six months old. The aware is a huge sum for such a new firm. The Department of Health and Human Services announced the contract in a Tuesday statement. It said the Advanced Research and Development Authority — which directs federal money to companies countering public health threats — was giving the deal to Phlow, which is based in Richmond. Dr Eric Edwards, co-founder and CEO of Phlow, told the Associated Press that many Americans do not realise how dependent the US is on foreign manufacturers for its medicines, a situation Phlow wants to change. "It's amazing how many individuals don't realize how vulnerable our active ingredient supply chain has been," Edwards said. According to The New York Times, Phlow will be replicating the function of US companies that already produce the same drugs, but rely on foreign raw ingredients. Phlow aims to source these from within the US. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar echoed the concern in a statement announcing the contract. "The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us how health threats or other sources of instability can threaten America's medical supply chains, potentially endangering Americans' health," Azar said. According to the health care website Stat News, Edwards has come under scrutiny for his actions with previous ventures. An earlier company he founded, Kaleo, was investigated by the US Senate for abruptly increasing prices for an opioid overdose treatment by more than 600%. Kaleo was also scrutinized by Senator Chuck Grassley for selling a rival product to the EpiPen for $4,500. A spokesperson for Phlow told Stat News that Edwards left Kaleo "on good terms more than a year ago and had no oversight of drug pricing during the end of his tenure," and later amended the statement to say that he had no oversight over drug pricing decisions at all. Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump's trade adviser and a noted China critic, told The Wall Street Journal that he had been introduced to Edwards in November by Phlow board member Rosemary Gibson. Gibson reached out after reading Navarro's book "Death By China," which warns of US over-reliance on Chinese pharmaceuticals, Navarro said. Alex Azar Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar speaks during a cabinet meeting in the East Room of the White House on May 19, 2020 Alex Wong/Getty Images After Navarro dispatched a team to inspect one of its manufacturing plants, the company submitted a proposal in March, according to the Journal. The initial contract is for $354 million to boost US-based drug supplies over four years. It includes the option to be extended for 10 years to a total sum of $812 million. That sum would be one of the largest grants ever rewarded by the body. On its website, the company echoes President Donald Trump's "America First" rhetoric about reducing US reliance on foreign manufacturing. Its marketing material says: "The United States' drug supply chain is broken, becoming dangerously dependent upon foreign suppliers for our most essential generic medicines." The company will manufacture raw ingredients for drugs needed to treat COVID-19 patients, according to CBS News. The drugs will be then manufactured in US-based facilities.
CDC now says coronavirus 'does not spread easily' via contaminated surfaces https://www.foxnews.com/health/cdc-...s-not-spread-easily-via-contaminated-surfaces For those of you still wiping down groceries and other packages amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, breathe a sigh of relief: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now says the novel virus “does not spread easily” from "touching surfaces or objects" — but experts warn that doesn’t mean it’s no longer necessary to take "practical and realistic" precautions in stopping the spread of COVID-19. Though it’s not exactly clear when, the federal health agency appears to have recently changed its guidelines from early March that simply said it “may be possible” to spread the virus from contaminated surfaces. The CDC now includes "surfaces or objects" under a section that details ways in which the coronavirus does not readily transmit. Other ways in which the virus does not easily spread is from animals to people, or from people to animals, the federal agency said on its updated page. “COVID-19 is a new disease and we are still learning about how it spreads. It may be possible for COVID-19 to spread in other ways, but these are not thought to be the main ways the virus spreads,” according to the CDC. The CDC did, however, remind citizens that the virus does mainly spread person-to-person, noting the virus that causes a COVID-19 infection, SARS-CoV-2, "is spreading very easily and sustainably between people.” More specifically, the agency said the virus primarily spreads from person-to-person in the following ways: Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms The change comes after a preliminary study from March suggested that the novel coronavirus can remain in the air for up to three hours, and live on surfaces such as plastic and stainless steel for up to three days, prompting many to take to wiping down packages and other items. However, at the time, the study was yet not peer-reviewed, and, as Yahoo notes, did not determine if people could be infected from touching certain surfaces analyzed. Dr. John Whyte, the chief medical officer for the healthcare website WebMD, called the CDC’s changes an “important step in clarifying how the virus is spread, especially as we gain new information.” “It also may help reduce anxiety and stress. Many people were concerned that by simply touching an object they may get coronavirus and that’s simply not the case. Even when a virus may stay on a surface, it doesn’t mean that it’s actually infectious,” Whyte told Fox News in an email. “I think this new guideline helps people understand more about what does and doesn’t increase risk. It doesn’t mean we stop washing hands and disinfecting surfaces. But it does allow us to be practical and realistic as we try to return to a sense of normalcy,” he added. Dr. William Schaffner, the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, echoed Whyte. “The virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person-to-person (within about 6 feet). Person-to-person contact is a highway. Touching infected surfaces are little paths, but they don’t carry the big viral traffic,” he told Fox News in an email. “To reduce the spread of COVID-19, the safest thing is to continue social distancing, wear masks, and wash hands frequently and thoroughly.” Indeed, the CDC on its updated page reiterated important steps to take to prevent exposure to the virus. Maintaining a “good social distance," (keeping 6 feet away from others while in public), as well as washing hands often and “routinely” cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces were listed as key precautions. “I think this new guideline helps people understand more about what does and doesn’t increase risk. It doesn’t mean we stop washing hands and disinfecting surfaces. But it does allow us to be practical and realistic as we try to return to a sense of normalcy." — Dr. John Whyte, chief medical officer of WebMD The news comes after The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in mid-April issued a statement saying that there’s no need to wipe down food packaging after you’ve returned home from the grocery store. “We want to reassure consumers that there is currently no evidence of human or animal food or food packaging being associated with transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19,” the FDA said at the time. A spokesperson for the CDC did not immediately return Fox News's request for comment on Wednesday.
https://fox6now.com/2020/05/20/more...ockdown-as-2nd-wave-of-covid-19-cases-emerge/ https://bgr.com/2020/05/20/coronavirus-mutation-china-outbreak-longer-infection/ Novel coronavirus cases in northeast China are presenting themselves differently than the earliest cases in Wuhan, sparking concerns about mutations. The new coronavirus cases are infected for a longer period of time, take longer to test negative, and are infected for longer before they start to show symptoms. University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health director says this isn’t enough to prove that the virus is mutating, and that there could be other explanations. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...s-outbreak-shows-signs-pathogen-changing.html
In good COVID news, the CDC has a very effective treatment for the condition killing kids (MIS-C). Of a test group of 33, the mortality rate was 0 percent, and 82 percent had been discharged from the hospital. Doctors say CDC-backed treatment for kids with inflammatory syndrome linked to coronavirus is ‘highly effective’ https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/doc...oronavirus-is-highly-effective-161540741.html As many as 147 kids in New York have been diagnosed with a new condition linked to the coronavirus — now officially known as “multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children” or MIS-C. While most cases have been located in New York, other major cities — including Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and, as of Thursday, Denver — have reported cases, too. With multiple reported fatalities from the illness, parents are understandably worried. But this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced some hopeful news — a treatment that is helping kids survive. Doctors say the hallmark symptom of MIS-C is a high, sustained fever (102 or greater, over multiple days), but other common symptoms include rash, abdominal pain, diarrhea, rapid pulse and bloodshot eyes. The CDC, which recently began studying the syndrome, hosted a webinar this week to help shed light on what doctors know thus far. The organization noted that a direct link between coronavirus and MIS-C has not been drawn but that “many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19.” The syndrome has proven deadly in at least a handful of cases, but in the most promising news thus far, the CDC revealed this week that doctors have found a treatment — one that’s not only lessening symptoms, but allowing kids to leave the hospital feeling back to normal. The drug is what’s known as intravenous immunoglobulin or IVIG, a collection of antibodies that help fight inflammation. To find out more about this treatment, Yahoo Life spoke with two pediatric experts currently immersed in the crisis. IVIG is made from blood plasma — much of which comes from college students Head of the pediatric infectious diseases division at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Dr. Audrey John has seen some cases of MIS-C in her department and has seen major success treating kids with it. She describes IVIG as “pooled antibodies” which can be “used to provide immunity to people who don’t make their own antibodies.” She notes that it is the standard treatment for Kawasaki disease (KD), a rare inflammatory syndrome in kids that has many overlapping symptoms with MIS-C. ( More at above url)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/22/coronavirus-update-us/ Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has quietly updated its guidance to say that the virus “does not spread easily” from contaminated surfaces and is primarily transmitted through person-to-person contact. The change to the CDC website was made earlier this month without formal announcement or explanation, and some public health experts worry that it could give people the impression that they don’t have to wash their hands quite so often.