Tag: Trump politicizing COVID-19 response

FDA chief apologizes for overstating plasma effect on virus

WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to an outcry from medical experts, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn on Tuesday apologized for overstating the life-saving benefits of treating COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma.

Scientists and medical experts have been pushing back against the claims about the treatment since President Donald Trump’s announcement on Sunday that the FDA had decided to issue emergency authorization for convalescent plasma, taken from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and rich in disease-fighting antibodies.

Trump hailed the decision as a historic breakthrough even though the treatment’s value has not been established. The announcement on the eve of Trump’s Republican National Convention raised suspicions that it was politically motivated to offset critics of the president’s handling of the pandemic. Continue reading.

C.D.C. Now Says People Without Covid-19 Symptoms Do Not Need Testing

New York Times logo

The revision prompted confusion and alarm from experts, who called the move “potentially dangerous.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly modified its coronavirus testing guidelines this week to exclude people who do not have symptoms of Covid-19 — even if they have been recently exposed to the virus.

Experts questioned the revision, pointing to the importance of identifying infections in the small window immediately before the onset of symptoms, when many individuals appear to be most contagious.

Models suggest that about half of transmission events can be traced back to individuals still in this so-called pre-symptomatic stage, before they start to feel ill — if they ever feel sick at all. Continue reading.

Watch: Trump abruptly ends news conference after reporter points out contradictory statements on plasma treatment

AlterNet logo

President Donald Trump abruptly ended his press conference after a reporter asked for details about the emergency authorization of convalescent plasma from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn’s comments seemed to conflict with Trump’s characterization during the short Sunday press conference. The reports are still coming in on the research, but Trump said he fast-tracked what he called the “bureaucracy.”

“You have the treatment is safe and very effective, yesterday it was showing promising efficacy, so which of the two is correct?” Trump was asked by who appeared to be Washington Examiner reporter Rob Crilly, wearing a mask. Continue reading.