Starting Friday, for the first time in two months, parts of New York are eligible to reopen for business — a beacon of hope amid the dark tragedy that continues to shroud the virus-ravaged tri-state area and much of the nation. Another positive sign: New Jersey’s beaches will reopen for Memorial Day weekend.
New York City shows no sign of easing a two-month coronavirus lockdown. For the vast majority of all New York state residents, a stay-at-home order that had been set to expire Friday will now remain in place until June 13, unless individual regions can meet specific criteria.The lockdown has left America’s cultural and commercial capital wondering what its future holds. While many European cities begin the process of reviving their economies, the Big Apple — America’s coronavirus epicenter — remains shut as authorities fear sparking another wave of COVID-19 infections.
Federal Focus Shifts to COVID-19 Treatments
As drug companies investigate antiviral drugs to combat COVID-19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) looks to previous COVID-19 patients as a potential source for a more effective therapy.Early reports from some experimental drug trials have shown marginal success in the fight against COVID-19. These drugs, however, may have significant side effects and require many months or even years to demonstrate their safety and efficacy.
An alternative therapy found in the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients could eliminate side effects and would leverage the experience gained during similar recent outbreaks, including the SARS, H1N1 influenza, and MERS epidemics. A recently published FDA guidance provides investigators with regulatory and logistical guidelines for studying this alternative COVID-19 treatment.Patients who recover from COVID-19 do so by developing antibodies that fight the infection. Once B cells produce antibodies, they embark on a seek-and-destroy mission that targets the contagion. T
Sanofi to Give US Preference on Future Covid-19 Vaccine
The US will have priority access to a Covid-19 vaccine if and when Sanofi develops one, the French pharmaceutical giant told Bloomberg on Wednesday, explaining that the US offered more money to fund vaccine research.“The US government has the right to the largest pre-order because it’s invested in taking the risk,” Sanofi’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
Sanofi is one of the biggest players among dozens of companies racing to develop a vaccine against the disease that has killed at least 290,000 people worldwide.It has partnered with UK rival GlaxoSmithKline Plc on the project supported by the US and says it could make 600 million doses annually — a capacity that Hudson said he aims to double.The Sanofi CEO warned that Europe risks falling behind unless it steps up its own efforts to seek protection against the pandemic.