The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) has called for states to expedite that approval process for the medical supply company McKesson Corp. so it can have coronavirus vaccine sites ready for distribution by November 1, according documents obtained by the Associated Press. The newer, faster paced vaccine timeline is not only unexpected, but has raised concern from public health experts as to whether or not a vaccine will be approved for public use outside of political pressure.
Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.) Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn has repeatedly stated that the federal public health agency is basing all of its coronavirus treatment and vaccine approvals on science, not politics. Hahn tweeted on Wednesday that the F.D.A. will host public meetings from an independent Vaccine Advisory Committee to review COVID-19 vaccine candidates as they begin to submit regulatory paperwork.
"The meetings will reinforce the transparency of the process as F.D.A. reviews data from trials now underway," Hahn wrote. "The entire F.D.A. scientific and medical staff is firmly committed to an objective review of the data. We all recognize that the public will have confidence in our decisions only if they are supported by science."
Yet, the vaccine approval timeline is beginning to move much faster than anticipated--going from most likely early 2021 to potentially November.
In a letter addressed to state governors dated August 27, C.D.C. Director Dr. Robert Redfield wrote that states will receive permit applications for McKesson, the company that has been contracted by the C.D.C. to carry out distribution of coronavirus vaccines once they are made available. Redfield stated that the timeline for a vaccine is still subject to change, meaning that the waivers will not compromise the safety or effectiveness of an approved vaccine.
Other documents also obtained by the Associated Press outlined possible vaccine timelines that had the potential to be available by the end of October, although noting that supply would be highly limited.
Federal Aid
With no sign of Congressional approval for a new fiscal stimulus package in sight to aid coronavirus impacted businesses and households, the Trump administration on Tuesday called for the C.D.C. to use its authority to temporarily halt evictions through year's end. The eviction moratorium was enacted in effort to slow the coronavirus pandemic by limiting the migration of potentially millions of Americans who cannot afford their monthly rent payments at this time.
The move followed President Donald Trump's previous executive order that asked fro the C.D.C. and the Department of Health and Human Services to consider eviction halting measures to help contain the coronavirus outbreak.
The new C.D.C. order will apply to citizens who qualified for a stimulus check under the federal CARES Act, meaning individuals who make under $99,000 a year or couples who jointly made $198,000 or less. While the order does effectively halt evictions at this time, it does not prevent landlords from requiring full amount the tenet owes at the end of the halt.
Treatment Update
Low-cost steroid drugs can reduce the risk of death for critically ill COVID-19 patients by 20%, an analysis of seven international trials published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found on Wednesday. The study prompted the World Health Organization to update its advice on the treatment, according to Reuters.
The analysis looked at several separate trials of low doses of the steroids hydrocortisone, dexamethasone and methylprednisolone used to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients. The finds reaffirmed prior results for a dexamethasone study that showed the drug can improve the survival rate of hospitalized patients when compared to those who were just given standard care.