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.”
0 Comments
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)
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:
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 Vatican News:
In words following the recitation of the Marian Prayer on Sunday, Pope Francis highlighted an appeal launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres this week calling for an 'immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world', amidst the current Covid-19 pandemic. 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. FDA issues emergency use authorization for donated hydroxychloroquine sulfate, chloroquine phosphate3/30/2020 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.” The BuzzFeed article, "After Trump's Tweet, The Government Is Funding A Coronavirus Study Of Hydrochloroquine," says A North Carolina company known as PPD Development won a $750,000 deal days after the president’s "controversial statements" about the antimalarial drugs. In total, it has received $38 million over 12 months.
One of the company's fact sheets says: PPD supports about 80 active ongoing projects for: • Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) • National Institutes of Health (NIH) • Department of Defense (DoD) • Nonprofits and academia Under our prime BARDA Clinical Studies Network contract, PPD supports the design and conduct of clinical studies to develop medical countermeasures to protect against bioterrorism, pandemic influenza and other public health emergencies. Results are due April 21. Russian Government Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) on use of anti-malaria drug mefloquine3/28/2020 Official release:
FMBA of Russia presented a drug for the treatment of coronavirus infectionThe Research and Production Center Pharmzashchita of the FMBA of Russia, taking into account Chinese and French experience, has developed a treatment regimen for coronavirus infection based on the antimalarial drug mefloquine. “The drug with high selectivity blocks the cytopathic effect of coronavirus in cell culture and prevents its replication, and the immunosuppressive effect of mefloquine prevents the activation of the inflammatory response caused by the virus. The addition of macrolide antibiotics and synthetic penicillins not only prevents the formation of a secondary bacterial-viral syndrome, but also allows you to increase the concentration of antiviral agents in blood plasma and lungs. This will provide effective treatment for patients with coronavirus infection of varying severity, ”said Veronika Skvortsova, Head of the FMBA of Russia. The developments were carried out taking into account the recommendations of the World Health Organization and were proposed for inclusion in the Methodological Recommendations of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of new coronavirus infection (COVID ‑ 19). “In addition, the FMBA of Russia is working to create, on the basis of mefloquine, an effective and safe scheme for the prevention of coronavirus infection, which will not only overcome the peak of incidence, but also effectively control it in the future,” added Veronika Skvortsova, Head of the FMBA of Russia. RT has this report. |