McConnell on Bipartisan Coronavirus Relief: “The Senate Stepped Up” as Senate Passes $2 Trillion Stimulus Bill 96-0

McConnell on Bipartisan Coronavirus Relief: “The Senate Stepped Up” as Senate Passes $2 Trillion Stimulus Bill 96-0

Washington, DC…U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act: “It has only been 65 days since the first American tested positive for the new coronavirus on our soil. “In barely two months, this pandemic has upended our […]

FDA Emergency Use Authorization for Point of Care Coronavirus (COVID-19) Test

FDA Emergency Use Authorization for Point of Care Coronavirus (COVID-19) Test

Washington, DC…The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization for a point-of-care COVID-19 diagnostic for the Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test.  “The test we’re authorizing today will be able to provide Americans with results within hours, rather than days like the existing tests, and the company plans to roll it out […]

President Donald J. Trump Approves Washington Disaster Declaration

President Donald J. Trump Approves Washington Disaster Declaration

Washington, DC…Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Washington and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020, and continuing. The President’s action makes Federal funding available for […]

NIH Clinical Trial of Potential Vaccine for COVID-19 Begins. Study Enrolling Seattle-Based Volunteers

NIH Clinical Trial of Potential Vaccine for COVID-19 Begins.  Study Enrolling Seattle-Based Volunteers

Seattle, WA…A Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating an investigational vaccine designed to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has begun at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) in Seattle. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding the trial. KPWHRI is part of NIAID’s Infectious Diseases […]

Roche’s Rapid Test to Detect Novel Coronavirus Receives FDA Emergency Use Authorization

Roche’s Rapid Test to Detect Novel Coronavirus Receives FDA Emergency Use Authorization

Basel, Switzerland…Roche today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the cobas® SARS-CoV-2 Test. It is intended for the qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease, in nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab samples from patients who meet COVID-19 clinical and/or epidemiological criteria for […]

WHO Director General’s Remarks Declaring Covid-19 Outbreak as a Pandemic

WHO Director General’s Remarks Declaring Covid-19 Outbreak as a Pandemic

Geneva, Switzerland…Good afternoon. In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled. There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives. Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals. In the […]

Quest Diagnostics Launches Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Test. Started Receiving Specimens March 9th

Quest Diagnostics Launches Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Test.  Started Receiving Specimens March 9th

Secaucus, NJ…Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services, has launched a coronavirus (COVID-19) test service. The new test service aids the presumptive detection of nucleic acid in respiratory specimens of patients meeting CDC’s clinical criteria for COVID-19 testing. Quest was in position to receive specimens for testing, and begin to […]

Briefing by Vice President Pence and Members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force

Briefing by Vice President Pence and Members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force

Washington, DC…We just completed another meeting of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. It’s been a very busy and productive day here at the White House. President Donald Trump has no higher priority than the safety and health of the American people. And the President has directed our task force — employing the full resources […]

Breakthrough From Israel’s MIGAL Research Institute in Development of Corona virus (COVID-19) Vaccine

Breakthrough From Israel’s MIGAL Research Institute in Development of Corona virus (COVID-19) Vaccine

Kiryat Shmona, Israel…After 4 years of research funded by Israel’s Ministry of Science & Technology, MIGAL’s researchers have developed an effective vaccine against avian coronavirus Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV), to be adapted soon and create a human vaccine against COVID-19. Israel’s Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Ofir Akunis, commented: “Congratulations to MIGAL on this […]