Worldwide confirmed COVID-19 cases surpassed 1 million on Thursday, doubling in less than a week. The world knew nothing of the novel coronavirus less than five months ago when cases began to surface in Wuhan, China.
Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC that the coronavirus will still be a concern in the fall is there is not an effective drug against it. "If we don't have [a proven treatment], this virus is going to come back in the fall and it's going to continue to shut down parts of out lives," Gottlieb warned. "This is going to circulate in the background. The consumer is not going to bounce back. People are going to be afraid to go out and we're going to continue to see people succumb to this virus."
Total Global Cases: Over 1.01 million
Total Deaths: At Least 52,000
Total Recovered: At Least 212,000
Right on Track
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, the clinical trials of Moderna's
"It'll take a few months to get the data to where we'll feel confident to go to the phase two...The ultimate solution to a virus that might be coming back would be a vaccine," Dr. Fauci stated during a White House press conference. "The same way a vaccine for other diseases that were scourges in the past that now we don't even worry about."
The FDA approved the first test for coronavirus antibodies for use in the United States on Thursday. All current tests are designed to find signs of the infection in individuals, but a n antibody test made by Cellex Inc. will tell health care workers if a patient has ever been exposed to the virus. This test will initially be important for doctors and nurses to know whether they already have recovered from the virus, and eventually give scientists a better idea of how widespread the outbreak has been.
Political Oversight
Speaker for the Congressional House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced on Thursday that she will be forming a bipartisan House committee to oversee the Trump administration's response to the pandemic and the implementation of stimulus throughout the United States.
"The committee will be empowered to examine all aspects of the federal response to the coronavirus to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being wisely and efficiently spent to save lives, deliver relief and benefit our economy," Pelosi wrote in a letter to the Democratic Party.
The establishment of the committee is to manage the government's response proactively, rather than after the crisis is over. During President Donald Trump's daily coronavirus press conference on Thursday, Trump criticized Democrats for opening up an investigation during a crisis.
"I want to remind everyone here in our nation's capital, especially in Congress, that this is not the tome for politics, endless partisan investigations...It's a witch hunt after witch hunt after witch hunt. And in the end, the people doing the witch hunt they've been losing, and they've been losing by a lot," Trump stated.
New Use
French police stated on Thursday that France will turn a hall in the world's largest food market into a temporary morgue. Currently, more than 5,000 people have died from the epidemic in France, which has led to tensions between hospitals and funeral homes, especially in the Paris region.
"This location will make it possible to preserve, in conditions that are the most dignified and acceptable from a sanitary standpoint, the caskets of the deceased awaiting burial or cremation, in France or aboard," French police stated. The morgue to expected to begin use on Friday.
In the United State, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the Javits Center in Manhattan will be used to treat coronavirus patients. The convention center with transformed over the weekend into a hospital with 1,000 available beds. Currently, more than 1,500 people of died of the coronavirus in New York City.
Lack of Supply
As new research emerges surrounding the ability for the virus to spread before symptoms develop, Majors of both Los Angeles and New York City have asked all their residents to wear face coverings when they go into public spaces. But this protocol reversal is coming during a massive shortage of protective care for health care workers.
To combat the medical shortage, the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services plan to distribute over 500,000 masks and other personal protective equipment that was confiscated by price gaugers to health care workers in New York and New Jersey. Amazon
