The FDA granted Monday an emergency use authorization for a new coronavirus antibody test by Abbott Laboratories. Why it matters: Companies are pushing to create antibody tests, which indicate whether a person had the coronavirus in the past, including those who were asymptomatic.
A rerncent federal study found that the Gilead Sciences' experimental drug, remdesivir, was the first treatment shown to have even a small effect against Covid-19. Behind that ray of hope, though, was one of the toughest quandaries in medicine: how to balance the need to rigorously test a new medicine for safety and effectiveness with the moral imperative to get patients a treatment that works as quickly as possible.
Three of the top health officials in the U.S. announced they would self-quarantine after reportedly coming into contact with White House staffers who tested positive for COVID-19, sparking concern about the virus spreading within the administration.
It was Jan. 22, a day after the first case of covid-19 was detected in the United States, and orders were pouring into Michael Bowen’s company outside Fort Worth, some from as far away as Hong Kong. Bowen’s medical supply company, Prestige Ameritech, could ramp up production to make an additional 1.7 million N95 masks a week. He viewed the shrinking domestic production of medical masks as a national security issue, though, and he wanted to give the federal government first dibs.
U.S. companies continued their massive sell-off of medical masks overseas throughout March, well after the coronavirus began infecting Americans and draining hospitals of critical supplies and even as White House officials raised red flags, a USA TODAY investigation found.