In Washington

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) sent clear signals to the Trump administration that Democrats are not going to engage in anything less but serious negotiations on a coronavirus relief package. Thursday the Speaker mocked White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Republican’s efforts to rekindle negotiations after three weeks of stalled negotiations. Pelosi spoke to Meadows this afternoon by phone. After the 25 minute call she issued a statement saying “this conversation made clear that the White House continues to disregard the needs of the American people as the coronavirus crisis devastates lives and livelihoods.” The Speaker reiterated that Democrats would be willing to meet Republican’s halfway, adding that both sides were at a “tragic impasse” after the Trump administration has failed to acknowledge the funding levels that “experts, scientists, and the American people know is needed.”
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday authorized the emergency use of a coronavirus test that costs US$5 and produces a result in 15 minutes without the use of lab equipment, with manufacturer Abbott stating it could produce 50 million antigen tests each month. President Trump is planning to announce a US$750 million deal with Abbott Laboratories for 150 million tests to be distributed to nursing homes, schools, and other areas with high-risk populations.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to receive backlash from health experts and medical groups as the Director Robert Redfield defended its change of guidelines that now says that if you get exposed to coronavirus you don’t necessarily need to be tested. Media sources are reporting that the “change came from the top down,” but the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services Adm. Brett Giroir denied those claims and said the revisions originated with him.
  • As we reported yesterday, both Giroir and Redfield said the changes were directly approved by the experts on the White House Coronavirus Task Force. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key expert on the task force, said he was not involved in approving those final changes because the meeting was held while he was undergoing surgery. “I am concerned about the interpretation of these recommendations and worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact it is,” he said.
  • Health experts continue to be alarmed that the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) in a joint statement with the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) is calling for the “immediate reversal of the abrupt revisions” by the CDC. The American Medical Association called the CDC’s testing revisions “a recipe for community spread and more spikes in the coronavirus.” AMA president Susan Baliey said that it is standard procedure for the CDC to provide evidence-based rationale for changes in guidance. “We urge CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services to release the scientific justification for this change in testing guidelines,” said in a statement.
  • The governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut said they would not follow the new revisions to the CDC guidelines and instead continue to recommend testing for anyone that has come into close contact with a COVID-19 infected person. The governors said that the CDC’s policy change is “reckless and not based on science” and notes that testing close contacts of individuals with COVID-19 has “been a key factor” in slowing the virus’s transmission and “threatens the robust testing regimes” the states have been working for.
• Sen. Patty Murray, ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar demanding that he explain why the administration has limited FDA’s ability to review certain coronavirus tests. As reported previously, the FDA announced last week that it would allow individual labs to market tests they've developed directly to consumers without FDA review. Murray requested a briefing from officials at relevant agencies involved in the matter within 15 days.

In the News

• More than 1 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the week ending 22 August, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Continuing claims, which account for those receiving unemployment benefits for at least two straight weeks, fell by 223,000 to 14.5 million for the week ending 15 August.
• Many retailers report decreased demand for back-to-school supplies as parents and students delay purchases of fresh outfits, notebooks, and glue sticks. About 61 percent of U.S. elementary and high school students will start the school year with virtual-only learning, according to a survey this week by Burbio. Walmart, Target, Kohl’s and The Children’s Place are among the retailers that said shopping is off to a slow start.
• The U.S. had hit another milestone with the coronavirus infecting over 5.82 million people and killed over 180,000 people in the U.S., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
• A new study from the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy finds that if 75 percent of the U.S. population gets a COVID-19 vaccine, it would need to be at least 80 percent effective to fully end the pandemic without any other measures. Only 42 percent of Americans currently plan to get a vaccine.
• This year's flu season in the Southern Hemisphere is unexpectedly mild, probably because anti-COVID-19 public health measures have also limited the spread of influenza. Flu season typically peaks in the Southern Hemisphere in July or August.
• United Airlines says it will cut 2,850 pilot jobs between 1 October and 30 November if the government does not extend an aid package to help airlines cover employee payroll for another six months. United's head of flight operations sent a memo warning that furlough notices will be sent to an additional 600 pilots as a result of lagging travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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