Developing a Vaccine for Media Bias

By Cliff Kincaid – April 7, 2020

H.G. Wells’ book, War of the Worlds, shows the aliens dying at the end, after almost destroying planet earth, when germs poison them. In real life, human beings are being killed by germs in the form of the coronavirus and the major media. One poisons your body, the other poisons your mind.

“We were all praying for a miracle,” says Bat Masterson in the 1953 movie version of the book, as church bells ring in the distance. The movie narrator explains, “The Martians had no resistance to the bacteria in our atmosphere to which we have long since become immune. Once they had breathed our air, germs which no longer affect us began to kill them.”

Over the course of decades, I co-authored several books with Reed Irvine, founder of Accuracy in Media, with such titles as Profiles of Deception and The News Manipulators.  Media bias is like a coronavirus spreading around the world. Media are like modern germs. President Trump is our vaccine.

At one time, I thought the media would eventually correct their mistakes, in order to avoid embarrassment. Yet, they get worse, day by day, and even continue to claim that they provide “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” A newspaper with the slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” wants to censor President Trump’s daily press briefings.

To his credit, President Trump uses his coronavirus task force briefings not only to bring us good news about the war against the invisible enemy but to identify the enemy that is sitting right in front of him (and us) in the briefing room. He understands that the media today function as the equivalent of Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally during World War II.

In this war, Trump has tried to rally the nation to victory while praising the first line of defense, consisting of doctors, nurses, first responders, soldiers, and others. At the same time, he takes on those in the media who want to undermine the war effort. He knows their poisonous approach has disastrous consequences.     

On Monday, Trump made mince-meat of various reporters who, in a series of gotcha moments, seized upon another report out of the bureaucracy about supposed problems in the medical supply chains involving coronavirus tests. It turns out, under questioning, that the reporters didn’t know the name of the bureaucrat and only reluctantly, under questioning, admitted the bureaucrat came out of the bowels of the Obama bureaucracy. These reporters don’t even read beyond the headlines.

“I wish we had a fair media in this country,” the president said. His own questioning made the reporters look foolish. He called one, Jonathan Karl of ABC, “third-rate.”

Reporters claim they are trying to assure accountability from government. But they go into these briefings with information based on headlines and no facts. They asked about an Inspector General report written by a bureaucrat whose name they didn’t know. Jonathan Karl looked unprepared as he tried to supply basic biographical information about the bureaucrat.

Trump pressed them, in dramatic fashion, because he knows that the title “Inspector General” sounds impressive but can be a mask for politically-motivated actions.  That’s why he fired the Inspector General for the so-called intelligence community.

In this case, Trump got reinforcements, as Admiral Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary for health, responded, “I don’t know the inspector general. I don't know that person. I’ll tell you one thing I have a problem with: If there was such a problem that she knew about or he knew about on March 23 and 24, why did I find out about the test [problem] from them on the news media at 8 o’clock this morning?”

In other words, the report was old news and released for political purposes. Even worse, the bureaucratic reluctance to share information about a potential problem may have cost lives. Instead, the information went to the news media, to serve as ammunition against Trump.  

Our media, by and large, don’t want to solve anything. They could be on their death beds from the virus and still spew out poison toward the Commander-in-Chief. They work in conjunction with bureaucrats left over from the previous administration who also want to make Trump look bad. This problem is as bad as the virus itself.

As a professional media analyst, I used to spend many hours a week watching the news, in order to document their malpractice. I have finally come to realize that the procedure of media monitoring is itself hazardous to one’s health. Nothing is to be gained from watching Lester Holt, except for the feel-good story at the very end of the broadcast. I’ve noticed how the feel-good stories never involve anything the Trump Administration has done in the current crisis to save lives.

Today, I watch the White House briefings, with some lively give-and-take, and Tucker Carlson’s independently-minded Fox News program.  It is better to spend my time comparing and contrasting different sources of information, doing my own research, and then reporting my findings at my own website, America’s Survival, Inc.  I recommend this approach to my fellow Americans. A vaccine for media bias is free and available now. It is called critical thinking.

*Cliff Kincaid is president of America’s Survival, Inc. www.usasurvival.org

The Red Chinese Lied, Americans Died, and Americans Prayed

By Cliff Kincaid – April 4, 2020

When FDR waged World War II, he could mobilize the entire country. President Trump faces an assortment of enemies, here and abroad. These include China, source of the virus; Russia, which is driving American oil producers out of business through overproduction of cheap oil; a toxic anti-American media culture; and a Democratic Party that wants to undermine Trump through investigations and make him (and the country) fail.

Another factor is that FDR could mobilize American industrial power. We are now learning that much of that power was outsourced to China. It is sad and tragic that the once-great United States made decisions over the course of the last 40 years that facilitated the build-up of China into an industrial and economic superpower. Henry Kissinger began the policy of appeasing China and it was implemented through its ascension to the World Trade Organization. China became a Frankenstein monster devouring the world.

Coming into office, Trump recognized this problem and sought through various policies to rectify the situation. As I see it, the China virus was revenge for Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods. Otherwise, China and its handmaidens in the World Health Organization would have quickly alerted the world to the nature of this beast. They lied and Americans died.

Although opinions differ, the consensus of the various medical experts is that this is a highly contagious disease, with symptoms in severe cases much worse than the flu, lung damage worse than the flu, and a death rate overall that may be much worse than seasonal flu.

President Trump had no alternative but to defer to these authorities. But he has to suspect, based on its contagious and deadly nature, that the virus may have been engineered. China has a bioweapons program that has been documented by such authorities as former Soviet scientist Ken Alibek and analyst Eric Croddy. Nobody with a serious mind assumes it was just a coincidence that the virus came out of a region with a Chinese lab conducting secret research.  

Our enemies seem to have us where they want us – our people are dying and the economy is collapsing. China is betting that it will come out on top of the world. Then, the old Sino/Soviet split will be exposed as another great deception. Russia will dominate the oil markets and have Europe under its control.

In the middle of all of this, President Trump is attempting to rally the nation. He is stuck with a medical bureaucracy that relied on China for misinformation about the virus and a media that plays gotcha at daily press briefings. He understands the gravity of the situation but is obviously limited by what he can say publicly about the threat. As I argued in a recent column, the invisible enemy has a name.

To his credit, Trump has broken with the “experts” to facilitate public access to various alternative drugs and treatments. This could be the development that helps America turn the corner in the weeks ahead. 

While FDR could rally the nation into war production for the United States military, which was deployed abroad, today’s threat is so great that the military is being diverted into domestic uses and purposes. America’s military and National Guard are building hospitals and taking care of patients. Meanwhile, Navy ships are being infected with the virus and the Pentagon is warning that the spread of the virus could affect U.S. military readiness and our ability to deter our enemies from further strikes.

This is yet another problem that Trump has to take into account as he navigates the difficult path of safeguarding America’s survival.

At the same time, the globalists opposed to his election and candidacy are continuing the drumbeat of opposing the only way -- through America-first policies – that we have of escaping the morass we found ourselves in.

Consider that the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) journal Foreign Affairs has published another anti-Trump article, “’“America First’ Is a Dangerous Fantasy in a Pandemic: Foreign Aid and Global Leadership Will Be Integral to Any Solution,” which endorses the same mistakes that got us into this mess in the first place. The article is by former Obama official Philip H. Gordon.

The use of a CFR publication to attack Trump is not unexpected. This is the organization that boasted Soviet spy Alger Hiss, a founder of the United Nations, as a prominent member.

This article ignores China’s lies, as well as the fact that the World Health Organization told the world on January 14 that the virus could not be transmitted between people. On January 21, relying on Chinese and WHO’s data, Dr. Anthony Fauci told TV host Greg Kelly that “this is not a major threat for the people of the United States. And this is not something that the citizens of the United States right now should be worried about.” Dr. Deborah Birx admits China gave the U.S. “incomplete data” about the virus. That’s a polite way of saying the Red Chinese lied so Americans died.

In the face of this mass murder, socialist U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres demands a “global cease fire,” adding, “The virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly.” But China is directly implicated in the genocide.

Former Obama officials are ignoring the role of China in this worldwide meltdown for an obvious reason: Barack Hussein Obama was an acolyte of global Marxism and actually met with Chinese dictator Xi in November 2017 during a meeting described by the British Guardian as a chat between two “veteran cadres.” They were “all smiles.”

A Russian media organ took note as well, saying the term “veteran cadres” is “generally used to refer to retired Chinese Communist Party officials.” It was a tip-off that Obama was serving the communist cause all the time he was serving as president of the United States.

It’s the case we were making in our three books on Obama, including Red Star Rising: The Making of Barack Hussein Obama and the Transformation of America.

Trump is facing a difficult fight that is made worse by the actions of publicity-seeking governors who complain about delivery of supplies while closing churches and keeping abortion clinics, liquor stores, and pot shops open.

The only thing worse is the conduct of certain reporters at the daily press briefings, as they attempt to bring down a president trying hard to save lives.

Whatever executive orders may remain in place, the people of the various states are not going to wait long to return in numbers to the closed churches, even risking their lives in a desperate attempt to appeal to God to save their nation. Many Americans are praying now more than ever. They are praying for their president.
*Cliff Kincaid is president of America’s Survival, Inc. www.usasurvival.org    
 
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Release: Sen. Rick Scott Calls for Investigation of WHO’s Role in Helping Communist China Cover Up Global Pandemic

Excerpts:

Tuesday, March 31, 2020WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott released the below statement calling on Congress to hold a hearing and investigate the World Health Organization’s (WHO) role in helping Communist China cover up information regarding the threat of the Coronavirus.

Senator Rick Scott said, “The mission of the WHO is to get public health information to the world so every country can make the best decisions to keep their citizens safe. When it comes to Coronavirus, the WHO failed. They need to be held accountable for their role in promoting misinformation and helping Communist China cover up a global pandemic. We know Communist China is lying about how many cases and deaths they have, what they knew and when they knew it – and the WHO never bothered to investigate further. Their inaction cost lives. As soon as Congress is back in session, there should be a hearing, along with a full investigation, to review whether American taxpayers should continue to spend millions of dollars every year to fund an organization that willfully parroted propaganda from the Chinese Communist Party.”

Official release:

The U.S. Role in International Organizations’ Response to COVID-19

​3/31/2020 02:45 PM EDT
Office of the Spokesperson

“Whenever you see high quality, effective COVID-19 aid being delivered around the world by UN humanitarian and relief agencies, what you are seeing is the generosity of the American people and those who share our humanitarian values.  We are by far the largest contributors to organizations like the UN Children’s Fund and the World Food Program because we believe in effective multilateralism that is focused on helping those in need, not scoring political points. This is what true global leadership looks like.”
— Secretary Michael R. Pompeo, March 27, 2020

The United States is by far the most generous and reliable contributor to crisis response and humanitarian action through the United Nations and dozens of international organizations. U.S. assistance, monetary and in-kind contributions, expertise and technology, are indispensable to the effort to combat COVID-19.  Examples include:
U.S. Support to the World Health Organization (WHO)

• The United States has been the largest supporter of the World Health Organization since its creation in 1948. U.S. contributions to WHO in 2019 exceeded $400 million, almost double the 2nd largest member state contribution. China, in contrast, contributed $44 million.
• WHO is coordinating the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is on the ground in 149 countries around the world. This broad-based effort would not be possible without U.S. support.
• The United States and other significant partners, such as Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and the Gates Foundation, have invested for decades in WHO’s emergency preparedness, response capacity, and expertise.

U.S. Support to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

• UNICEF was one of the first organizations to provide aid to the Chinese people during the COVID-19 pandemic. On January 29, for instance, UNICEF delivered 6 metric tons of respiratory masks and protective suits for health workers to Shanghai, for distribution in Wuhan.
• This effort would not have been possible without U.S. support. In 2019, the U.S. contributed more than $700 million to UNICEF, compared to China’s $16 million for UNICEF programs.
• UNICEF is engaged in emergency actions in dozens of countries across the globe to provide critical medical supplies, expand water, sanitation and hygiene services, and educate about means of preventing the spread of the virus.
• The United States continues to work vigorously with UNICEF to promote the health and well-being of children around the world.

U.S. Support to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

• Refugee populations are uniquely vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, and U.S. support to UNHCR is unmatched.
• In 2019, the United States contributed nearly $1.7 billion to UNHCR, making it clear that we care about human suffering no matter where it occurs. China contributed $1.9 million.

U.S. Support to the World Food Program (WFP)

• The World Food Program, through its Humanitarian Response Department, has sent more than 85 shipments to 74 countries to assist in COVID-19 responses, including 1.4 million units of personal protection equipment such as health kits.
• In 2019, the United States provided 42% of WFP’s $8 billion in resources, making the U.S. the largest contributor, and four times the next largest member state donation. The PRC provided just $30 million.
• Even in the midst of the pandemic, WFP maintains its goal to reach 86 million food insecure people this year – thanks to American funding and food grown by American farmers.

Note: Scott Gottlieb is an author of the AEI report, "National Coronavirus Response A ROAD MAP TO REOPENING​," urging mass vaccinations. 

Release:  SCOTT GOTTLIEB ELECTED TO PFIZER’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Thursday, June 27, 2019 - 4:17pm

EDTPfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) today announced the election of Dr. Scott Gottlieb to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Dr. Gottlieb, age 47, was also appointed to the Regulatory and Compliance Committee and the Science and Technology Committee of Pfizer’s Board.

Dr. Gottlieb, a physician and medical policy expert, is currently a Special Partner of New Enterprise Associations, Inc.’s healthcare investment team and a Resident Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute. He served as the 23rd Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2017 to 2019. Prior to serving as Commissioner, Dr. Gottlieb held several roles in the public and private sectors, including serving as the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs and as a Senior Adviser to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where he helped implement the Medicare drug benefit, advance policies to improve healthcare quality and promote the effective use of new medical technologies.



Release:

​PFIZER AND BIONTECH TO CO-DEVELOP POTENTIAL COVID-19 VACCINE

Excerpt:

Companies will jointly develop BioNTech’s mRNA-based vaccine candidate BNT162 to prevent COVID-19 infection Collaboration aims to accelerate global development of BNT162, leveraging expertise and resources of both companies Builds on 2018 agreement to jointly develop an mRNA-based influenza vaccine

Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - 2:00am
EDTNEW YORK & MAINZ, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE, “Pfizer”) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, “BioNTech”) today announced that the companies have agreed to a letter of intent regarding the co-development and distribution (excluding China) of a potential mRNA-based coronavirus vaccine aimed at preventing COVID-19 infection. The companies have executed a Material Transfer and Collaboration Agreement to enable the parties to immediately start working together.

AEI study urges mass vaccination: National Coronavirus Response A ROAD MAP TO REOPENING​

Scott Gottlieb, MD Caitlin Rivers, PhD, MPH Mark B. McClellan, MD, PhD Lauren Silvis, JD Crystal Watson, DrPh, MPH MARCH 28, 2020​.

About the Authors:

• Scott Gottlieb is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and was the Food and Drug Administration commissioner from 2017 to 2019. He serves on the boards of Pfizer Inc. and Illumina.
  
• Mark McClellan, who directs the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, was commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from 2002 to 2004. He is an independent board member at Alignment Health Care, Cigna, Johnson & Johnson, and Seer. He is a co-chair of the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network and receives advisory fees from Arsenal Capital, CRG, and Mitre.
  
• Lauren Silvis is a senior vice president at Tempus Inc. and was previously the deputy director of the Food and Drug Administration’s medical device center and the agency’s chief of staff from 2017 to 2019.
  
• Caitlin Rivers is an epidemiologist and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
  
• Crystal Watson is a health security expert and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Note: The AEI slogan is "Defending and Promoting Freedom, Opportunity, and Enterprise."

Trigger for Switch Toward Mass Vaccination. Once availability of a vaccine or therapeutic is able to meet demand, vaccination can expand beyond priority groups. The CDC, state public-health agencies, and vaccine developers should work together to plan for and execute mass vaccination of large populations in the US. This planning can begin before Phase III because preparation can be made regardless of vaccine availability. 
​
Mass Vaccination or Therapeutic Distribution—When Supply Is Abundant. The CDC should work with state and local health officials, health care providers, CMS and health insurers, and other public-health stakeholders to create a national plan for how mass vaccination will be carried out across the country. This plan should identify who will administer vaccinations, where vaccines will be offered, and how data will be collected on vaccination rates, as well as possible adverse events from the vaccine. Indemnification of vaccine developers and manufacturers should also be considered. Congress could enact legislation to support a process for compensation of any individual who has an adverse event from the vaccine, which requires medical care.

Global Vaccine Scale-Up and Vaccination. The CDC, the US Agency for International Development, the State Department, and other US stakeholders should continue to work with WHO and other international organizations and national leaders to plan for how the US will assist other countries (particularly low- and middle-income countries) with obtaining vaccine and implementing mass vaccination. Support from the United States and higher-income nations will be critical for controlling the virus globally and saving lives around the world, as well as reducing the impact that future waves of the pandemic may have on the US population.

​How Trump is Taming the Bureaucracy and Saving Lives
 
By Cliff Kincaid – March 30, 2020
 
From the start of the crisis, President Trump has been trying to figure out -- and cut through -- the bureaucracy. His latest victory is the decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accept 30 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate and one million doses of chloroquine phosphate for possible use in treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19 or for use in clinical trials. Trump understands that America cannot wait for a possible vaccine and that patients and their doctors need the freedom now to try alternative treatments.
 
In this context, the tragic death of former Senator Tom Coburn is a reminder that the federal health care bureaucracy has been characterized by slow-moving efforts that are sometimes marked by corruption or incompetence. His sad passing is an occasion for remembering that, as a Senator and medical doctor, he released a major study, “CDC Off Center,” about how the federal agency wasted hundreds of millions of tax dollars and has been ineffective in controlling disease. A case in point is the billions wasted on more than 30 years of research into an HIV/AIDS vaccine. 
 
A strong conservative, Coburn was willing to challenge the bureaucracy and expose its malfeasance. He exposed what critics have called the “Medical Deep State.”
 
We saw the bureaucracy in action in 2014, when the Obama Administration failed to impose a travel ban and prevent disease carriers with the deadly Ebola virus from coming into the United States. The Obama administration actually allowed a carrier of Ebola from Africa, where it originated, into the United States, where he infected two nurses, one of whom had been allowed by the Centers for Disease Control to travel on a plane. He died. The CDC says the outbreak ended with more than 28,600 cases and 11,325 deaths. In the U.S., however, we were fortunate to escape a major outbreak.
 
Obama’s CDC director, Dr. Tom Frieden, actually wrote an article, “Why I don’t support a travel ban to combat Ebola outbreak.” He is now a leading medical “expert” at the Council on Foreign Relations, a major source of anti-Trump commentaries. 
 
My coverage of this disease at the time questioned why Obama opposed a common-sense ban on travel to the U.S. by people from Ebola-infected countries. He also kept the southern border wide open. Simply put, Obama viewed restrictions on African travel to the U.S. as racist. He was giving black Africa special access to the U.S., and putting their interests ahead of America’s.
 
On another level, it seemed as if Obama, a globalist, didn’t mind if people in the U.S. were to become infected. In his mind, there would be more pressure to find a “cure,” or at least a vaccine. But who knew how many would die in the process? At the time, we didn’t know. It could have been hundreds, or thousands, or more.
 
A poll from The Washington Post and ABC News showed that 67 percent of people supported a travel ban.
 
To make matters worse, Obama appointed Ron Klain, an Obama insider and Joe Biden chief-of-staff, as his “Ebola Czar.” He had no experience in the health field. He is now a leading critic of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus but outlets like CNBC fail to note that he worked for a president who knowingly permitted Ebola to take root on American soil.
 
In regard to coronavirus, Trump has broken decisively with the Obama policy and has forced the health care bureaucracy to come over to his way of thinking. His ban on travel from China, where the virus originated, has saved countless lives. In effect, Trump has been taming the bureaucracy to put America and Americans first.
 
I believe the president’s decision to accelerate the use of anti-malaria drugs to treat coronavirus reflects his skepticism of the bureaucracy’s heavy emphasis on vaccines to “solve” the problem of infectious disease. The failed development of an HIV/AIDS vaccine demonstrates that the Medical Deep State cannot be trusted and relied on in this case.   
 
Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in 1981, more than 700,000 American lives have been lost to HIV.  President Trump’s plan, “Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America,” emphasizes drugs as treatments for HIV/AIDS. He promises hope – not false hope.
 
In the case of Ebola, the CDC quickly announced human testing of an “investigational vaccine to prevent Ebola virus disease” and a so-called “fast-tracking” process was underway. It looked like the CDC was much faster in approving human trials of a vaccine than in stopping Ebola from coming into the U.S. in the first place. Ultimately, however, the first FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of Ebola wasn’t announced until the end of 2019. But questions remain and it has not been licensed for widespread use. It was another false hope that took too many years to develop through the bureaucracy. It was years too late.
 
Hundreds of people got neurological disorders and several dozen died from a swine flu vaccine before it was withdrawn in 1976. The CDC Director at that time, Dr. David J. Sencer, was fired. Yet, the CDC museum is named after him. In addition to the 1976 swine flu debacle, there were several vaccine scandals involving children during the Clinton administration. A hepatitis B vaccine was withdrawn because it contained a toxic substance, and a vaccine against diarrhea was withdrawn because it, too, was dangerous to children.
 
As the feds scramble for another risky and mandatory vaccine, in the case of coronavirus, remember that Congress pass the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, which created a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, for a reason. Vaccines can be dangerous and backfire.
 
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons argues that “we need the right to try” alternative drugs and treatments, such as the anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. The group notes that an early version of these drugs may have been a key factor in General George Washington’s victory over the British in the Revolutionary War.
 
In the spirit of George Washington, President Trump is meeting the challenge.
 
Cliff Kincaid is president of America’s Survival, Inc. www.usasurvival.org
 

23 March 2020 Transcript of the Secretary-General's virtual press encounter on the appeal for global ceasefire

​Our world faces a common enemy: COVID-19.
 
The virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith.  It attacks all, relentlessly.
 
Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world. 
 
The most vulnerable — women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalized and the displaced — pay the highest price.
 
They are also at the highest risk of suffering devastating losses from COVID-19.
 
Let’s not forget that in war-ravaged countries, health systems have collapsed.
 
Health professionals, already few in number, have often been targeted.
 
Refugees and others displaced by violent conflict are doubly vulnerable.
 
The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war.
 
That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.
 
It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.
 
To warring parties, I say:
 
Pull back from hostilities. 
 
Put aside mistrust and animosity.
 
Silence the guns; stop the artillery; end the airstrikes.
 
This is crucial…
 
To help create corridors for life-saving aid.
 
To open precious windows for diplomacy.
 
To bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
 
Let us take inspiration from coalitions and dialogue slowly taking shape among rival parties in some parts to enable joint approaches to COVID-19.  But we need much more.
 
End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world.
 
It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now.
 
That is what our human family needs, now more than ever.
 
**Questions and Answers
 
Under-Secretary-General Fleming:  Thank you very much, Secretary‑General. We're now going to take some questions from the press. 
 
James Bays from Al Jazeera is asking: Your call for a global ceasefire is obviously going to be difficult to achieve. I would like to ask you to address just one conflict as an example, Libya, where all parties are already supposed to be observing a humanitarian pause; but, in fact, it seems one side led by General [Khalifa] Haftar has used this period to intensify his military campaign.
 
Secretary-General:  There was a truce that was more recently decided again. It is not holding very well, and this is one of the reasons why I believe we need a global ceasefire. And all my special representatives will be very active, talking with the parties and trying to create a global dynamic in order for all countries around the world to put pressure on the parties of the conflicts everywhere to stop the fighting.
 
I believe that this is the only way to address those situations. We're aware the parties have been quite stubborn in not accepting the need [for] a ceasefire when everybody knows that there is no military solution, and the fighting going on only increases suffering and makes the response to COVID‑19 now even more difficult.
 
Ms. Fleming:  Just a quick follow‑up to that from Maria from TASS. You did mention that you were in touch with your special envoys. Have you received any commitments to the ceasefire from different sides in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Ukraine, etc.?
 
Secretary-General:  I'm launching the global appeal now. My special envoys will be now working with the parties to the conflict to try to make sure that this global appeal is not only listened to but leads to concrete action, leads to a pause in fighting, creating the conditions for the response to COVID‑19 to be much more effective. And let's not forget, those areas that are ravaged by the conflict are areas where the capacity of response is very limited, and if the fighting goes on, we might have an absolutely devastating spreading of the epidemic.
 
Ms. Fleming:  Yeah, and so Jessica from France 24 is asking a related question. Can you explain how you would protect the world's most vulnerable from the virus, refugees in particular?
 
Secretary-General:  Well, the UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency) and IOM  (International Organization for Migration) have been working hard to have a plan, working with the Host Countries in order to create conditions in refugee camps or in settlements where refugees are, together with displaced people, both to prevent the arrival of the virus to those places, so different measures, but also to create the capacity to respond and to mitigate the impact inside those camps. I appeal for the international community to fully support those measures.
 
They will be included in a humanitarian appeal that we will launch on Wednesday, asking for $2 billion to allow us to have a humanitarian response more effective in relation to those dramatic situations where COVID‑19 has... needs by itself but, at the same time, is linked to a desperate situation already in the countries affected.
 
Ms. Fleming:  Betul Yuruk from Anadolu Agency is asking:  Do you think the measures taken by the world leaders are enough? And, if not, what other steps would you like them to take?
 
Secretary-General:  I've just sent a letter to the leaders of the G20. I think it is clear that we need a much stronger coordination, coordination in suppression of the disease, coordination in making sure that not only the developed countries can respond effectively to the disease but that there is massive support to the developing world not to let the disease spread like wildfire in the developing world; and then a huge package, a package to respond to the economic and social consequences but not, as in 2008, a package essentially aiming at the financial centre.
 
Now it's a human crisis, so the package needs to make households be afloat, make businesses be afloat. Keep societies being afloat in this very difficult circumstance, and this will require a double‑digit GDP support in the developed world and creating the conditions to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), through the swaps among central banks, through the creation of new facilities.
 
We need to mobilise in our funds to allow the developing countries themselves to be able to have an adequate economic and social response to the crisis and then the need to make sure that, when we recover, we recover in a more sustainable and a more inclusive economy.
 
Ms. Fleming:  Pam Falk from CBS News is asking: Are you concerned that this crisis is diverting attention from some of the world's other problems?
 
Secretary-General:  It is true that the crisis is diverting attention from many other issues. We need to be able to respond to the crisis but, at the same time, as I did today, to make sure that [in] responding to the crisis, we are also addressing some of our major concerns.
 
When I ask for a global ceasefire, the global ceasefire is, of course, absolutely essential for an effective response to the crisis in areas of conflict but is also a value in itself. War doesn't make any sense when we have an epidemic, but war doesn't make any sense in any circumstances.
 
Ms. Fleming:  Okay. Just two last questions. A number of journalists who are online have asked, or are asking, what world leaders you've spoken to.
 
Secretary-General:  I've been sending today a message to all G20 leaders. I've been speaking to several of them, and I intend to be in a virtual conference with all of them this week.
 
Ms. Fleming:  Okay. And the final question: How are you feeling, Mr. Secretary‑General?
 
Secretary-General:  I'm feeling strongly determined. This is the moment in which the UN must be active. The UN must fully assume its responsibilities first doing what we have to do ‑‑ our peacekeeping operations, our humanitarian agencies, our support to the different bodies of the international community, the Security Council, the General Assembly but, at the same time, it’s a moment in which the UN must be able to address the peoples of the world and appeal for a massive mobilisation and for a massive pressure on governments to make sure that we are able to respond to this crisis, not to mitigate it but to suppress it, to suppress the disease and to address the dramatic economic and social impacts of the disease.
 
And we can only do it if we do it together, if we do in a coordinated way, if we do it with intense solidarity and cooperation, and that is the raison d’etre of the United Nations itself.
 
Ms. Fleming:  Thank you very much, everybody, for tuning in to this virtual press conference. Take care and stay safe.

Release: HHS accepts donations of medicine to Strategic National Stockpile as possible treatments for COVID-19 patients

​Excerpts:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today accepted 30 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate donated by Sandoz, the Novartis generics and biosimilars division, and one million doses of chloroquine phosphate donated by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, for possible use in treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19 or for use in clinical trials. These and other companies may donate additional doses, and companies have ramped up production to provide additional supplies of the medication to the commercial market.
“President Trump is taking every possible step to protect Americans from the coronavirus and provide them with hope,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “Scientists in America and around the world have identified multiple potential therapeutics for COVID-19, including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. The President’s bold leadership and the hard work of FDA and HHS’s Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response have succeeded in securing this large donation of medicine. We’ll continue working around the clock to get American patients access to therapeutics that may help them battle COVID-19, while building the evidence to evaluate which options are effective.”