NEW to @NBCNews: Frmr. FDA officials urge Biden to nominate a permanent commissioner

👉Amid questions ab. if the void impacts approval of more tools to fight COVID, mainly RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS, which we're shipping to Europe but not using here en masse.

nbcnews.com/politics/meet-…
“The coming days and weeks will require further timely and effective actions, for example to support the development of antiviral treatments and advance the availability of reliable, easy-to-use tests,” wrote the frmr commissioners including Scott Gottlieb & Mark McClellan.
This is particularly important as the U.S. rushes to reopen schools just as the new, more contagious variant takes hold.

Dr. Ashish Jha of Brown University also pressed Congress and to prioritize this. “Many companies have developed antigen tests that cost less than five dollars
and can return results in less than 15 minutes,” he said.

“The FDA has been slow to approve these cheap, rapid antigen tests primarily due to concerns about accuracy and lack of thorough data and maintaining the rigor and high standards of FDA approval are important. However,
rapid tests serve a different role than PCR tests and should be evaluated accordingly.”
The FDA referred NBC to a recent interview Woodcock did with NPR in which she explained that while effective, many of the tests are still under review:

npr.org/2021/03/04/973…

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More from @HeidiNBC

27 Feb
NEW: CDC, after coming under criticism on school opening blueprint, issues guidance targeting *indoor air quality,* which is a major problem in thousands of schools:

@NBCNews reported on Feb. 15 about the absence of specific air quality guidelines:

cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

Particularly in underserved areas, and as new, more contagious variants of the virus take hold, ventilation is a critical concern in reopening schools.

A 2020 GAP report found 41% of districts need to update or replace heating, ventilation, and HVAC
systems in at least half of their schools, amounting to 36,000 schools needing HVAC updates.

"Perhaps they feel it’s hopeless because they can’t open windows or doors because of (active shooter) security protocols" & changing HVAC is expensive/time consuming, says @DrEricDing.
Read 4 tweets
16 Feb
My turn to thank YOU, @NicolleDWallace, for giving this issue the time it needs.

Poor ventilation in U.S. schools is a *nationwide* epidemic.

Further, the studies showing school COVID spread is low were done PRIOR to the new, more contagious variants set to become dominant.
"an estimated 41 percent of districts need to update or replace heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
(HVAC) systems in at least half of their schools, representing about 36,000 schools nationwide that need HVAC updates"

gao.gov/assets/710/707…
Read 4 tweets
13 Jan
Trump calling his remarks prior to a violent mob assaulting the Capitol "totally appropriate" broke a dam that's stood strong for 4 years.

@RepFredUpton of MI in announcing his support for impeachment:

"the President characterized his inflammatory rhetoric at last Wednesday’s
rally as “totally appropriate,” and he expressed no regrets for last week’s violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

This sends exactly the wrong signal to those of us who support the very core of our democratic principles and took a solemn oath to the Constitution.
I would have preferred a bipartisan, formal censure rather than a drawn-out impeachment process. I fear this will now interfere with important legislative business and a new Biden Administration. But it is time to say: Enough is enough.

The Congress must hold President Trump to
Read 4 tweets
7 Jan
NEW, per @KenDilanianNBC

Rep. Tim Ryan—who chairs key subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Capitol-- says as many as 60 Capitol Police officers were injured yesterday, including 15 hospitalized and 1 in critical condition. Many were hit in the head with lead pipes, he said
He said he is "livid" over the "strategic blunder" that left the Capitol Police without a solid plan and adequate reinforcements. They held off the mob for more than an hour before the building was breached, he said.

He said he does not understand, and plans to investigate, why
the mob was allowed to get so close to the Capitol when he was assured by police officials that could not happen. He added that there was an “intelligence failure,” to anticipate the scope of the threat.

While praising the heroics of most rank and file Capitol Police, he said
Read 4 tweets
3 Jan
Romney on @tedcruz @HawleyMO
👇
“The egregious ploy to reject electors may enhance the political ambition of some, but dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic. 1/
The congressional power to reject electors is reserved for the most extreme and unusual circumstances. These are far from it. More Americans participated in this election than ever before, and they made their choice.

President Trump’s lawyers made their case before scores of
courts; in every instance, they failed. The Justice Department found no evidence of irregularity sufficient to overturn the election. The Presidential Voter Fraud Commission disbanded without finding such evidence.
Read 7 tweets
2 Jan
In a move casting doubt on the legitimacy of a POTUS-elect who won the popular vote by a wide margin, 11 GOP senators explain it thusly:

1. There are allegations of fraud.

2. A sizable portion of R's believe them.

NOTE: Courts across the nation have rejected those allegations.
But, again, the statement says there are "allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes."

And they are believed by the people, 67% of Republicans, whom *they themselves told, without evidence* to believe such allegations.
"whether or not our elected officials or journalists believe it, that deep distrust of our democratic processes will not magically disappear. It should concern us all."
Read 5 tweets

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