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US officials continued to send mixed messages about the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine and the benefits of the masks, as vaccine developer Moderna released a document today explaining how it is conducting phase 3 trials.
In other developments, cases in the US remained stable but high, with 36,782 cases reported yesterday, according to the Johns Hopkins online tracker.
Patterns vary in different parts of the country, but a handful of states – Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming – set new records for weekly cases, according to a USA Today analysis. Others reported record numbers of deaths, including Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Trump and Redfield clash over vaccine and mask evaluations
Yesterday, in a Senate hearing, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Robert Redfield, said that a COVID-19 vaccine will probably not be widely available to the general public until the spring or the summer of 2021 and that wearing a mask is the nation’s most powerful tool to slow the spread of the virus, perhaps even more powerful than a vaccine.
But just hours later, at a press conference, President Trump contradicted Redfield’s assessment of the vaccine’s delivery schedule, saying distribution could arrive as early as October November, with up to 100 million doses by the end of November. year. When questioned by reporters, Trump said Redfield had incorrect information.
In addition, Trump rejected Redfield’s comments on the usefulness of the masks. After in Twitter, Redfield did not withdraw his statement but said that COVID-19 vaccines are the key for people to get their lives back and that masks, hygiene and distancing measures are the best current defense against the virus.
In another development related to masks, the Washington Post Today reported that based on emails, legal documents and other items it obtained, the federal government scrapped a plan in April for the United States Postal Service to distribute 650 million reusable face covers, enough for 5 for each household. Unidentified administration officials said the White House abandoned the plan because it did not want to cause concern or panic and instead shipped the masks to critical infrastructure sectors, which included businesses, health facilities and religious organizations.
Many health experts have said that masks are helpful when combined with other measures, including hand hygiene, physical distancing, and efforts to detect and isolate infected people.
In other government developments:
- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell yesterday lobbied Congress and President Trump to advance a coronavirus aid package, warning that a lack of fiscal support could hurt the US economy.
- The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped to 860,000 last week.
- On September 14, the Department of Defense announced on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services that it had signed contracts with nine companies to resupply the National Strategic Reserve with 73 million disposable isolation gowns at a cost of $ 335 million, with delivery by January 2021..
Modern details phase 3 test protocols
Amid questions about how companies are conducting their late-stage clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines, Moderna, one of the White House’s Operation Warp Speed candidates, today posted a 135-page explainer that it details how it is conducting its phase 3 trial. For example, it said the first analysis of the trial data might not take place until the end of December. But in an interview with the media, the CEO of the company said he should have enough data to know if the vaccine works in November.
Some experts on Twitter today praised Moderna’s decision. For example Eric Topol, physician, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said Moderna’s paper provides key insights into detention rules, interim analysis and efficacy assumptions. “All vaccine manufacturers in Phase 3 trials must follow suit. That is the transparency we need,” Topol said.
Pfizer today released similar information about its Phase 3 study protocols for its COVID-19 vaccine.
In other developments:
- US producers are ramping up production of antigen tests for COVID-19, aiming to produce 100 million per month by the end of the year, Reuters reported. Combining the production of previously approved tests with those likely to be approved in October would increase America’s testing capacity to 200 million per month by the end of the year.
- Visits to U.S. offices have remained at 50% since February, according to data from a company that provides access control systems, the Wall street journal celebrated.
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