The testing approach to H5N1 in cattle (in the link) needs to change substantially. @USDA_APHIS may be doing what it can now with minimal resources, but testing needs to expand, get simpler, more available and transparent.
1/xaphis.usda.gov/sites/default/… The testing protocol is too complicated. It also only allows testing in cows that meet a specific profile. It only provides for limited number of tests per premises. 2/x

I want to commend the Biden Admin for its new Executive Order on #AI - strong leadership & action on ensuring safe, secure development of AI, both to pursue all of it's great promise, but also to address serious biological risks and dangers (1/9)whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/… The EO rightly commits to attracting world’s leading AI talent, to using AI to drive innovation. AI will help accelerate new vaccines + therapeutics, improve access to Dx tools, help w/ forecasting, etc. But EO recognizes strong governance also needed to prevent misuse (2/9)

Important and good new COVID Winter Preparedness plan and actions announced today by Administration. Sets out plans of the Admin and its local gov & community partners to cope with rising COVID hospitalizations and mortality in country. 1/x whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/… COVID cases and hospitalizations are up in most US states across the country, COVID deaths are rising nationally. And wastewater monitoring shows increasing COVID in all regions. So this Winter Preparedness Plan from the Administration is important 2/x nytimes.com/interactive/20…

So glad to moderate the panel conversation on Catastrophic Contagion and pandemic preparedness w/ distinguished colleagues Drs. Bemo, Hanefeld and Ryan, today in Brussels at the Gates Foundation sponsored Grand Challenges meeting 1/x A few themes and lessons coming out of that conversation: 2/x

We just completed the quite valuable Catastrophic Contagion pandemic exercise in Brussels, in partnership with @gatesfoundation and @WHO at the Grand Challenges annual meeting 1/x The extraordinary group of participants were comprised of 10 current / past Health Ministers and senior public health officials from Senegal, Rwanda, Nigeria, Angola, Liberia, Singapore, India, Germany, and the US, as well as Mr. Bill Gates 2/x

The White House released the National Biodefense Strategy today. Compelling strategic goals, specific actions needed to get to them, many ambitious targets, clear assignment of lead agencies to get them done. Now its up to Congress to provide means to get all this work done 1/x Hard-to-reach concrete goals include: 100 days to develop a vaccine, 130 days to manufacture enough for all of US, novel therapies produced within 180 days, 14 days to set up a clinical trial system, population uptake of vaccine at 85% and others along those lines. 2/x

First annual report on the implementation of the Annual Pandemic Preparedness Plan was released--important to see many great examples of what has been accomplished this year. It doesn't note explicitly the lack of Congressional support for it 1/x whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-upda… Valuable work has gone forward in all of the five pillars of the plan - transforming med defenses, ensuring situational awareness, strengthening pub health systems, bolstering core capabilities and managing the pandemic preparedness mission. 2/x

It's true that the free US Postal program is suspended because of lack of Congressional funds. But its still possible to get free testing through Medicare and insurance, pharmacies (which cover the uninsured), FQHCs, many schools, food banks 1/x npr.org/2022/08/29/111… Testing remains a critical part of bringing the pandemic under better control, diminishing its consequences for all of us. People with symptoms should test so they can isolate, break the chain of infection, and get treated if they are in a group where treatment would help 2/x

Just attended useful White House briefing on Fed US Monkeypox response- 5 goals of strategy: 1) rapidly scale up vaccination 2) expand testing 3) increase access to treatment (w/ reduced paperwork) 4) drive research to address key science gaps 5) community response + outreach 1/x Overall goal of national response is to end monkeypox transmission in the US. There is no plan to move to accept endemic spread. Plan is to eliminate monkeypox 2/x

At White House Summit on Future of COVID Vaccines — many impressive science and biotech leaders presenting on promising new approaches to vaccines that could block COVID transmission - eg nasal, mucosal, transdermal patch, moderated by Francis Collins 1/x Biao He: On nasal mucosal approaches: examples of vaccines that work - flumist in people, kennel cough vaccine for dogs - but better understanding of correlates of protection need to be developed 2/x

As this monkeypox epidemic unfolds and we learn more, it’s very important to avoid stigmatization of people in the MSM or the larger LGBTI community, as UNAIDS said well and clearly news.un.org/en/story/2022/… 1/x We need factual messages that provide people good, clear, actionable information about risk, prevention, diagnosis and treatment. We also need the same kind of information for health care providers so they can provide best possible care for people at risk or currently ill. 2/x

Some extraordinary and good commitments made today at the Global COVID Summit hosted by WH and its co-host partners whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/… 1/x More than $3 billion in new funding, above and beyond pledges made to date in 2022 2/x

These new sub-variants of Omicron driving case numbers up in US and South Africa should provide concerning and clear new justification to Congress that they should pass supplemental funding for COVID response 1/x cnn.com/2022/05/03/hea… S African cases are on fast rise again, as are hospitalizations, driven by subvariants BA4 and BA5 - we don't know if that kind of new BA4/BA5surge will happen in US and elsewhere, but last time this kind of rise happened it brought the world Omicron 2/x nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Great to see continued expansion of Administration efforts to get Paxlovid to high risk COVID pts. It reduces risk of hospitalization in high risk COVID pts by > 85%, and its already widely available. 1/x

https://twitter.com/AshishKJha46/status/1517627655817940995

Its already at ~ 20,000 locations across country, including many community pharmacies, w/ plans to expand to many thousands more. Providers can prescribe Paxlovid for high risk COVID pts at these places. Your provider can go here to find a location aspr.hhs.gov/TestToTreat/Pa… 2/x

Great to see @WHO’s recommendation for use of PAXLOVID in high risk individuals newly diagnosed with COVID who.int/news/item/22-0… 1/x In two new trials Paxlovid reduced hospitalization by 85% in high risk people. 2/x

The New National Preparedness Plan is just released: whitehouse.gov/covidplan/ It’s focused on 3 top goals: protecting against COVID; preparing for new variants; and preventing economic and educational shutdowns 1/ On Protection: we now have more tools than we’ve ever had to protect ourselves — more than 215 million people fully vaccinated, a plan for getting kids vaccinated as soon as a vaccine is authorized; more treatments, more tests, more masks than ever before 2/

Important, new update to @CDCgov guidance on masking in America: more than half the country – 70% of Americans – now live in areas where CDC no longer recommends universal masking. cdc.gov/coronavirus/20… 1/ Find your county on this new CDC map that provides an updated view of transmission levels 2/

White House COVID briefing today. Significant news and developments starting with: by April 19th 90% of adult Americans will be eligible for a vaccine, 90% of Americans will live within 5 miles of vaccination site. 1/x
whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/… There are more than 50,000 vaccine sites now across the country. Within 3 weeks, there will be ~70,000 locations, as the number of pharmacies that are vaccinating doubles. 2/

Big announcement about the vaccine roll out today is the start of the Fed retail pharmacy partnership for COVID vaccination. Excited to see this program get started Feb 11 and think it has high potential. 1/x whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/… Will create additional new path for people to get vaccinated around country. Direct pharmacy allocation will be in addition to the 10.5M doses being delivered weekly that states will administer (this is a dose number which has increased some since end of last week.) 2/x

From White House COVID response conference: Will soon be ~7,000 viruses sequenced per week to look for variants 1/x Race/ethnicity data missing for 47% of vaccinations. @cdcgov and Admin working to change that and strongly encouraging the full reporting of that data 2/x

Very encouraged by the moves forward this week in the US vaccination effort. An average of 1.2-1.3M doses a day being administered across the country now (up from 700k-800K 2 wks ago). 1/x nytimes.com/interactive/20… We will need to accelerate vaccination numbers further as soon as vaccine production allows, but the numbers of daily vaccinations moving in right direction. Now is the time to be rapidly scaling up capacity to administer in all states. 2/x