Public Health Emergency - Leading a Nation Prepared
"We are making strategic investments to fight COVID-19: supporting Operation Warp Speed; resupplying the Strategic National Stockpile; distributing masks; and taking actions to effectively manage multiple disasters."
BARDA, Dept of Defense, and Astrazeneca are working together at warp speed on clinical trials and large-scale manufacturing of a medicine to prevent COVID-19. The government will own these first doses and can make them available with authorization from FDA.
BARDA is partnering with Vaxxas to develop a patch that could administer vaccines without traditional needles. This technology has the potential to reduce the amount of vaccine required, which would help healthcare professionals provide vaccine to more people. Patch technology also has the potential to offer a room-temperature-stable alternative to the cold chain required for some traditional vaccines.
Veklury (remdesivir), the only drug currently authorized by FDA to treat COVID-19 patients, can now be purchased directly from distributor. Today, Gilead Sciences reports it can produce sufficient amounts of the product for U.S. needs.
Beginning in 2018, ASPR invested in two pilot projects that demonstrated ways a Regional Disaster Health Response System could improve medical surge and clinical specialty capabilities. Today, ASPR is building on the successes of that pilot project to enhance health security.
