Coronavirus

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April 6, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

As the outbreak of the novel coronavirus continues to gain momentum in the United States, there is intense interest in the development of a vaccine. Several US drugmakers have begun working on a vaccine, independently or with federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health. The public is hungry for news about vaccines, and progress on their development is, at times, exaggerated. Fox Business reported: “We were able to rapidly construct our vaccine in a matter of about three hours once we had...

April 6, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

The federal government’s efforts to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic illustrate why we shouldn’t put our full trust in government to find a cure. After all, they badly botched the testing, costing valuable time in identifying new cases and limiting its spread. Fortunately, private-sector innovators are leading where government has underwhelmed, conducting speedy research and development into potentially life-saving cures, while providing critical support in other areas where government action was lacking. The first version of test kits from the Centers for...

April 2, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

Title: COVID-19 Pandemic Delaying Treatments of Hematologic Cancers By: John Schieszer Institutional restrictions due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are taking a large toll on patients with hematologic cancers. Some medical centers have canceled treatments and all centers have altered their policies and procedures. Starting in March, elective and semielective surgical procedures at most hospitals throughout the United States were put on hold, and uncertainty remains regarding when these procedures will start up again. . . . . . Because there is...

April 2, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

For anyone following the COVID-19 pandemic – and who isn’t? – it’s evident that we’re awash in punditry, speculation, and modeling. But we two are Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates, and we’re looking past the noise to what critical data we don’t yet have that will affect the management of the outbreak – which will, in turn, affect both public health and our economic recovery. On the medical front, let’s consider what we do know. First and foremost, the situation in the...

March 31, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

Private pharmaceutical companies and the National Institutes of Health have outdone themselves. Thanks to the funding provided by the NIH, a Phase 1 clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine  is underway. In separate efforts, Inovio, Sanofi, Vaxart, GlaxoSmithKline, and Johnson & Johnson are all developing potential vaccines. In total, “about 35 companies and academic institutions are racing to create a vaccine, at least four of which already have candidates they have been testing in animals. The first of these – produced by Boston-based...

March 30, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

As scientists race to develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, Democrats in Congress have renewed their push for price controls on drugs designed to protect us from the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, along with other illnesses. The Democrats claim many Americans will only be able to afford the therapies that emerge if the government caps their prices. But price controls are a counterproductive way to bring down the cost of vaccines and drugs to treat diseases. They'd not only result in shortages...

March 26, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Radio

PRI's Dr. Henry Miller talks to Lars Larson on the nationally-syndicated Lars Larson Show about the new timeline to remove the shelter in place orders as well as estimates in the United States and United Kingdom about the actual infection rate of the coronavirus. Dr. Miller is a former U.S. FDA official and is a senior fellow with PRI focuses on science, technology, and medicine. Dr. Miller's segment beings at the 48 minute mark. ...

March 25, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Innovation

Optimism is in short supply as the coronavirus pandemic grows deadlier by the day. COVID-19 has taken thousands of lives around the world and upended nearly every aspect of daily life. But there is at least one bright spot in this global public health emergency. That's the astounding speed with which private firms have begun tackling the problem. While federal regulators have exacerbated the crisis at seemingly every turn, private firms have rolled out promising new therapies and technologies that could...

March 23, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Innovation

As the United States ramps up rapid testing for the coronavirus, the results will surely show a sharp uptick in the number of cases of coronavirus-caused COVID-19. Those tested will learn whether they are infected, but, paradoxically, the public – and public health officials – will not know whether the overall results are encouraging or discouraging, because the rates of the coronavirus infectivity and mortality will remain poorly understood. The existing tests will not identify the potentially large numbers of people who were...

March 23, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Policy Proposals

As the coronavirus pandemic wreaks more and more medical and social havoc worldwide, we need to recall the observation of The Great One—no, not Dr. Tony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health—the other one, hockey player Wayne Gretzky, who said, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” Anticipating what’s coming is especially important in confronting an emerging infectious disease whose dynamics and possible impacts we don’t yet know. If we react too...

March 23, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Industry Trends, Radio

Dr. Henry Miller joined the nationally-syndicated Lars Larson Show to talk about the latest updates with the coronavirus, including the rapid spread of the number of cases in the United States and across the globe and how different states have reacted to the threat of COVID-19. Miller also talks about the questionable coverage by both sides of the media on the coronavirus. ...

March 17, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Industry Trends

The excellent and informative articles “Want a Test? Depends Where You Live” (The Coronavirus Pandemic, March 12) and “Don’t Jump to Conclusions” (Heard on the Street, March 11) about testing for the new coronavirus didn’t cover some important nuances. The test kits in use in the U.S. described in the articles detect viral genetic material—RNA, in the case of coronaviruses—which can be infectious material or noninfectious fragments. Once the patient has recovered and the RNA has been cleared, the tests will...

March 15, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Policy Proposals

Even for a nation as mighty, wealthy, and innovative as the United States, some problems don’t have ready solutions. Instead, we need to try to gather information, limit damage, and perform the needed course corrections. That’s where we are with the outbreak of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (the illness caused by which is designated COVID-19). There are some harsh, even frightening realities. First, we are past the point at which “containment” (the prevention of spread beyond known sources, such as travelers to China or...