Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Administration Distributed Remdesivir To Wrong Hospitals, Facilities Without ICU Beds
The Washington Post: Trump Administration Mishandled Initial Distribution Of Remdesivir For Coronavirus Treatment
The Trump administration mishandled the initial distribution of the only approved coronavirus medication, delaying treatment to some critically ill patients with covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to nine current and former senior administration officials. The first tranche of 607,000 vials of the antiviral medication remdesivir, donated to the government by drugmaker Gilead Sciences, was distributed in early May — in some cases to the wrong hospitals, to hospitals with no intensive care units and therefore no eligible patients, and to facilities without the needed refrigeration to store it, meaning some had to be returned to the government, said the officials familiar with the distribution effort. (Abutaleb, Dawsey, Sun and McGinley, 5/28)
CIDRAP: 5 Days Of Remdesivir For COVID-19 May Be Enough
Results from an ongoing phase 3 study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine showed no significant difference in the clinical status of hospitalized COVID-19 patients not requiring mechanical ventilation after a 5-day course of the antiviral drug remdesivir compared with patients who had a 10-day course. But the randomized, open-label trial lacked a placebo control, so the degree of benefit could not be determined. (Van Beusekom, 5/28)
The Washington Post: VA Says It Has ‘Ratcheted Down’ Use Of Hydroxychloroquine To Treat Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs has drastically scaled back the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat veterans with coronavirus infections after a major study raised questions about its efficacy and linked it to serious side effects, including higher risks of death. Testifying before the House Appropriations subcommittee on military construction, Veterans Affairs and related agencies, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie defended the continued use of the unproven drug but said it was used just three times last week. (Horton, 5/28)
The Hill: VA Hospitals Mostly Drop Hydroxychloroquine As Coronavirus Treatment
The VA is now mostly using remdesivir and convalescent plasma, Wilkie said, after studies showed the treatments had a positive effect in COVID-19 patients. “We ratcheted that down as we brought more treatments on online and I expect that trend to continue in the future but we will our mission was to preserve and protect life,” he said. (Hellmann, 5/28)
The Hill: White House Says Trump Would Take Hydroxychloroquine Again
President Trump is feeling “perfect” after taking hydroxychloroquine and would take the drug again if he felt he were exposed to the novel coronavirus, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Thursday. “He is feeling perfect,” McEnany told reporters. “He is feeling absolutely great after taking this regimen.” McEnany, who said she spoke with Trump about the subject just before the briefing, said Trump told her that he “would take it again if he thought he was exposed.” (Chalfant, 5/28)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Judge Rejects Chloroquine Restraining Order
A judge on Thursday dealt a blow to the Nevada osteopaths suing Gov. Steve Sisolak and other state officials over the governor’s emergency regulation limiting the routine prescribing of two existing anti-malarial drugs to treat COVID-19. Washoe County District Judge Scott Freeman denied a temporary restraining order that had been requested by the Nevada Osteopathic Medical Association against Sisolak, the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy and Nevada’s Chief Medical Officer Ihsan Azzam. (Lochhead, 5/28)
Stat: Pharma CEOs Push Back On WHO Patent Pool For Covid-19 Products
The heads of some of the world’s largest drug makers expressed a mix of confusion and resistance to a World Health Organization voluntary pool to collect patent rights, regulatory test data, and other information that could be shared for developing Covid-19 therapies, vaccines, and diagnostics. The WHO effort reflects mounting concern that some Covid-19 medical products may not be accessible for poorer populations. By establishing a voluntary mechanism under the auspices of the WHO, the goal is to establish a pathway that will attract numerous governments, as well as industry, universities and nonprofit organizations. But not every executive likes the idea. (Silverman, 5/28)
