President Donald Trump speaks speaks on the latest developments of the coronavirus outbreak, while flanked by White House coronavirus response coordinator Debbie Birx (L), and U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams (R), in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House March 19, 2020. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump in a press conference on Thursday said the Food and Drug Administration is fast-tracking efforts to approve an antiviral therapy, best known for treating malaria, for use in coronavirus cases.
The drug, hydroxychloroquine, was developed more than a half-century ago and is approved for treating malaria, arthritis, and other ailments. Reports out of China and Italy suggest the drug may help, but there is no hard data yet.
"We're going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately," Trump said.
The FDA is working to conduct a "large, pragmatic clinical trial" quickly to confirm the drug's benefit to coronavirus patients, said Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn.
He also tempered the president's optimism about the still-untested solution.
"What's also important is not to provide false hope," he said. "We may have the right drug, but it might not be in the appropriate dosage form right now, and it might do more harm than good."
New antiviral therapies face a shorter and less arduous approval process than vaccines, several of which are under development with 12 to 18-month timelines.
"The therapies are something we could move on much faster potentially," Trump said.
He claimed the administration "slashed red tape" to develop new vaccines and therapies.
The president also held out on confirming whether he would invoke the Defense Production Act, which he signed on Wednesday, to mandate the production of needed medical supplies such as N95 respirators and surgical masks.
"If we find that we need something, then we will do that," he said.
Trump repeated that he was open to the federal government buying equity stakes in the airline, cruise, hospitality, and other industries hurt by the outbreak.
The press conference opened with more controversial language placing the blame squarely on China for the outbreak, despite concerns voiced about potentially exacerbating a backlash against Asian Americans.
"We continue our relentless effort to defeat the Chinese virus," Trump said.
Gifted and talented education programs in schools throughout the United States are falling under greater scrutiny as the race and class divide in the programs remain wide. Marcia Gentry, a professor of educational studies and the director of the Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute at Purdue University, joined Cheddar to weigh in on if advanced tracking for students can also be equitable for lower income students and students of color.
The Supreme Court is now weighing in on one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws. The Texas law, which was enacted on September 1, bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. In addition, it allows any private citizen to sue anyone who helps a woman get an abortion. Jimmy Hoover, Supreme Court Editor-At-Large at Law360, joined Cheddar News to discuss more.
House Democrats are scrambling to hold a vote as soon as Tuesday on President Joe Biden's economic agenda — both the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $1.85 trillion social safety net and climate bill. With Biden still overseas, the bill stands in flux. Jennifer Haberkorn, congressional reporter at the Los Angeles Times, joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to discuss.
Lauren Brody, author of "The Fifth Trimester," joined Cheddar to talk about the ongoing fight for a national paid family leave policy after it was cut from the Democratic reconciliation bill negotiation reportedly due to objections from Senator Manchin. Brody discussed how parents are often forced to choose between work and caring for their family and newborns — or even taking time to deal with a traumatic loss. "Frankly, it's appalling to me that we live in a place that doesn't support people who have experienced the death of a baby and then had to go right back to work," she noted.
Even with pandemic lockdowns, greenhouse gas levels reached new highs in 2020, according to the World Meteorological Organization. This report comes just a week ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as Cop26. Shannon Osaka, climate policy and solutions reporter at Grist, joined Cheddar's Between Bells to discuss.
Paid family & medical leave is left out of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better domestic policy plan. Abby Vesoulis, reporter for TIME joins Cheddar News to breakdown what this means for Americans.
Carlo's flying solo today, talking COP26 and climate change, another racially charged trial gets underway, SCOTUS takes on abortion and a stunning rise in traffic deaths points to a bigger societal breakdown sparked by the pandemic.
World leaders will converge this weekend at the 2021 G20 Summit in Rome and the UN COP26 conference in Glasgow with the climate crisis on the agenda. Lord Adair Turner, chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, joined Cheddar to discuss what people can expect to come out of the climate-focused conferences. Turner also noted that one of the biggest hurdles for the attending nations will be coming to a uniform decision on expanding on the Paris Climate Accord goals that have become insufficient to prevent global warming by 1.5 degrees celsius.
