Hydroxychloroquine,sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others,is a medication used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to chloroquine. Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis,lupus,and porphyria cutanea tarda. It is taken by mouth,often in the form of hydroxychloroquine sulfate.
Alex Michael Azar II is an American attorney,businessman,lobbyist,and former pharmaceutical executive who served as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2018 to 2021. Azar was nominated to his post by President Donald Trump on November 13,2017,and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 24,2018. He was also chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force from its inception in January 2020 to February 2020,when he was replaced by Vice President Mike Pence.
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a politically conservative non-profit association that promotes conspiracy theories and medical misinformation,such as HIV/AIDS denialism,the abortion–breast cancer hypothesis,and vaccine and autism connections,through its official publication,the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. The association was founded in 1943 to oppose a government attempt to nationalize health care. The group has included notable members,including American Republican politicians Ron Paul,Rand Paul and Tom Price.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals,Inc. is an American biotechnology company headquartered in Westchester County,New York. The company was founded in 1988. Originally focused on neurotrophic factors and their regenerative capabilities,giving rise to its name,the company branched out into the study of both cytokine and tyrosine kinase receptors,which gave rise to their first product,which is a VEGF-trap.
Eric Jeffrey Topol is an American cardiologist,scientist,and author. He is the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute,a professor of Molecular Medicine and Executive Vice-President at Scripps Research Institute,and a senior consultant at the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla,California. He has published three bestseller books on the future of medicine:The Creative Destruction of Medicine (2010),The Patient Will See You Now (2015),and Deep Medicine:How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again (2019). He was commissioned by the UK from 2018–2019 to lead planning for the National Health Service's future workforce,integrating genomics,digital medicine,and artificial intelligence.
An Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in the United States is an authorization granted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under sections of the Federal Food,Drug,and Cosmetic Act as added to and amended by various Acts of Congress,including by the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 (PAHPRA),as codified by 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3,to allow the use of a drug prior to approval. It does not constitute approval of the drug in the full statutory meaning of the term,but instead authorizes the FDA to facilitate availability of an unapproved product,or an unapproved use of an approved product,during a declared state of emergency from one of several agencies or of a "material threat" by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Brett P. Giroir is an American pediatrician. He was formerly the U.S. assistant secretary for health,a four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and an acting Food and Drug Administration commissioner.
QuidelOrtho Corporation is an American manufacturer of diagnostic healthcare products that are sold worldwide.
Scott Gottlieb is an American physician,investor,and author who served as the 23rd commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from May 2017 until April 2019. He is presently a senior fellow at the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute (AEI),a partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA),a member of the board of directors of drug maker Pfizer,Inc and gene sequencing company Illumina,Inc. and a contributor to cable financial news network CNBC and the CBS News program Face the Nation. An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine,Gottlieb is the author of The New York Times best selling book Uncontrolled Spread on the COVID-19 pandemic and the national security vulnerabilities that it revealed. His forthcoming book,The Miracle Century:Making Sense of the Cell Therapy Revolution,traces the scientific achievements that propelled progress in cell therapies.
Sean Patrick Conley is an American physician and United States Navy officer who served as the physician to the president from 2018 to 2021. Conley served as physician to president Donald Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic,often serving as the president's medical advisor,and treating the president when he tested positive for COVID-19.
On December 31,2019,China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case was reported on January 20,and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency on January 31. Restrictions were placed on flights arriving from China,but the initial U.S. response to the pandemic was otherwise slow in terms of preparing the healthcare system,stopping other travel,and testing. The first known American deaths occurred in February and in late February President Donald Trump proposed allocating $2.5 billion to fight the outbreak. Instead,Congress approved $8.3 billion with only Senator Rand Paul and two House representatives voting against,and Trump signed the bill,the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act,2020,on March 6. Trump declared a national emergency on March 13. The government also purchased large quantities of medical equipment,invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950 to assist. By mid-April,disaster declarations were made by all states and territories as they all had increasing cases. A second wave of infections began in June,following relaxed restrictions in several states,leading to daily cases surpassing 60,000. By mid-October,a third surge of cases began;there were over 200,000 new daily cases during parts of December 2020 and January 2021.
COVID-19 drug development is the research process to develop preventative therapeutic prescription drugs that would alleviate the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). From early 2020 through 2021,several hundred drug companies,biotechnology firms,university research groups,and health organizations were developing therapeutic candidates for COVID-19 disease in various stages of preclinical or clinical research,with 419 potential COVID-19 drugs in clinical trials,as of April 2021.
President Donald Trump's administration communicated in various ways during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States,including via social media,interviews,and press conferences with the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Opinion polling conducted in mid-April 2020 indicated that less than half of Americans trusted health information provided by Trump and that they were more inclined to trust local government officials,state government officials,the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci.
The treatment and management of COVID-19 combines both supportive care,which includes treatment to relieve symptoms,fluid therapy,oxygen support as needed,and a growing list of approved medications. Highly effective vaccines have reduced mortality related to SARS-CoV-2;however,for those awaiting vaccination,as well as for the estimated millions of immunocompromised persons who are unlikely to respond robustly to vaccination,treatment remains important. Some people may experience persistent symptoms or disability after recovery from the infection,known as long COVID,but there is still limited information on the best management and rehabilitation for this condition.
Tatiana Michelle Prowell is an American medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer. She is an Associate Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Breast Cancer Scientific Liaison at the U.S. Food &Drug Administration.
During his first term as president of the United States (2017–2021),Donald Trump and his administration repeatedly politicized science by pressuring or overriding health and science agencies to change their reporting and recommendations so as to conform to his policies and public comments. This was particularly true with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic,but also included suppressing research on climate change and weakening or eliminating environmental regulations.
Vladimir Zelenko was an American family physician. He was born in Kyiv,Ukraine. At the age of three,his family moved to the United States and settled in Brooklyn,New York City. He received his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2000. He was an Orthodox Jew.
Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic has been propagated by various public figures,including officials of the United States government. The Trump administration in particular made a large number of misleading statements about the pandemic. A Cornell University study found that former U.S. President Donald Trump was "likely the largest driver" of the COVID-19 misinformation infodemic in English-language media,downplaying the virus and promoting unapproved drugs. Others have also been accused of spreading misinformation,including U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,backing conspiracy theories regarding the origin of the virus,U.S. senators and New York City mayor Bill de Blasio,who downplayed the virus.
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are anti-malarial medications also used against some auto-immune diseases. Chloroquine,along with hydroxychloroquine,was an early experimental treatment for COVID-19. Neither drug has been useful to prevent or treat SARS-CoV-2 infection. Administration of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to COVID-19 patients,either as monotherapies or in conjunction with azithromycin,has been associated with deleterious outcomes,such as QT prolongation. As of 2024,scientific evidence does not substantiate the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine,with or without the addition of azithromycin,in the therapeutic management of COVID-19.
The United States' response to the COVID-19 pandemic with consists of various measures by the medical community;the federal,state,and local governments;the military;and the private sector. The public response has been highly polarized,with partisan divides being observed and a number of concurrent protests and unrest complicating the response.
