In response to the positive preliminary data Gilead Sciences's
"Our focus at this time is on both out work with remdesivir and our ongoing commitments to the people who depend on our medicines today," CEO Danial O'Day stated during the company's first quarter earnings call.
For more good news on the vaccine front, AstraZeneca
Total Global Cases: Over 3.5 Million
Total Deaths: Over 244,000
Total Recovered: Over 1.1 Million
Intelligence Briefing
Top United States Intelligence Agency stated for the first time on Thursday that the nation's collective intelligence community does not believe that COVID-19 was man-made or genetically modified. The statement comes as other reports have suggested that the new coronavirus was developed as a biological weapon.
"The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued in a statement. "The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a Laboratory in Wuhan."
President Donald Trump on Thursday stated he was confident that the coronavirus outbreak originated in a laboratory. When asked what evidence he has seen to support this theory, Trump responded to White House reporters, "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that." The New York Times reported on Thursday that Trump has "pushed American spy agencies to hunt for evidence to support an unsubstantiated theory."
Trump also stated on Thursday during a meeting with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy that the United States is working as quickly as possible to produce a coronavirus vaccine, Calling the effort "Operation Warp Speed."
According to Bloomberg News, Operation Warp Speed aims to accelerate the process of vaccine creation, testing and production to be able to have hundreds of millions of doses ready by the end of the year. The project will indemnify any producer of the vaccine from liability if the vaccines cause sickness or death, which is what many health experts have warned can happen if a vaccine is not given the proper amount of testing.
"I hope we're going to have a vaccine and we're going to fast-track a vaccine like you've never seen before if we come with a vaccine. I think they probably will," Trump stated. "I'm not overpromising. Whatever the maximum is, whatever you can humanly do, we're going to do."
More Tracing
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stated on Thursday that, in partnership with the health-care nonprofit Vital Strategies, he is developing three smartphone apps to help the city trace the coronavirus to control the spread. The first app will help the hired contact tracers find information quickly, the second will allow the public to send data to local health departments and the third will provide guidance to people in quarantine and allow them to report symptoms.
