CNN (WBAP/KLIF) – President Trump and the White House Coronavirus Task Force updated the nation on continued efforts to respond to the pandemic.
The debate over using an anti-malaria drug not yet officially approved for fighting COVID-19 has erupted at the White House.
Senior Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro is speaking out emphatically for using the drug, even though scientists say more testing is needed before it’s proven safe and effective against the new coronavirus.
Navarro, a trade adviser on the White House virus task force, acknowledged to CNN on Monday that he had a heated exchange about the drug during Saturday’s virus task force meeting.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, says current studies aren’t conclusive. Navarro responded with two words: “Second opinion.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 7, 2020
Meantime, a new Health and Services report says the nation’s hospitals are dealing with “severe” and “widespread” shortages of needed medical supplies, hampering the ability to test and respond to the coronavirus pandemic adequately and protect medical staff, according to a new report from a government inspector general.
The assessment, the first internal government look at the response, was based on interviews from March 23-27 with administrators from more than 300 hospitals across 46 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.
“The emergence of Covid-19 created unprecedented challenges for the US hospital system,” HHS Assistant Inspector General for Evaluation and Inspections Ann Maxwell. Maxwell told CNN. “The role of this report is to provide a platform for these experiences in a point of time” and help inform decisions.
The report provides an accounting of the shortages faced by hospitals nationwide in trying to obtain equipment for staff and patients, including the avenues some hospitals turned to to acquire those items, like online retailers and paint stores. It also details the challenges hospitals faced in trying to keep up with testing demands and the inconsistent guidance that caused confusion.
The report is not a review of the Health and Human Service Department’s response to the coronavirus outbreak and acknowledges the pandemic is “fast-moving, as are the efforts to address it.”
For his part, President Trump blasted the report during the coronavirus task force update:
“”It’s just wrong,” Trump said, with detailing what was incorrect. t still could be her opinion. When was she appointed? Do me a favor and let me know. Let me know now. I have to know,”
(Copyright 2020 WBAP/KLIF 24/7 News. This report contains material from the CNN and the Associated Press)