Whoa. So for past weeks, many DC & biotech colleagues have told me that Trump WH is somehow stopping/refusing to fund treatments into #COVID19. I was first shocked & couldn’t believe it, but now new documents confirm it’s indeed true. Blocking lung treatment is an example.
2) “But earlier this month, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, a federal health agency, abruptly notified companies and researchers that it was halting funding for treatments for this severe form of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.”
3) “new policy highlights how staunchly Trump admin has bet on vaccines as the way to return US society and the economy to normal in election year. BARDA has pledged >$2.2 bil in deals with 5 vaccine manufacturers, compared with $359 mil toward potential Covid-19 treatments.”
4) “The decision to suspend investment in lung treatments blindsided academic researchers and executives at small biotech companies, who said they spent months pitching their proposals to BARDA, which is a division of the Department of Health and Human Services.”
5) “You’re going to need other forms of treatments for a lot of those people, and I feel like that’s where there’s going to be a gaping hole,” Even if a vaccine is approved, she and others noted, people will still get sick from the virus because not everyone will get it”...
6) “or the effectiveness of a vaccine may wane in months, or it may not work in older people or those with compromised immune systems. Thousands of people die from the flu in the United States each year even though there is a vaccine and treatments for that virus.”
7) ““Everybody deserves some piece of the pie,” said Dr. Arthur L. Caplan, a bioethicist at NYU Langone Medical Center. “It’s public money, so you do have to pay attention to the needs of all.”
