Nearly seven months to the day after President Trump launched Operation Warp Speed, a safe, effective vaccine is now being administered to the American people. As we speak, millions of doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine are being distributed around the country, utilizing plans months in the making developed by the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services.
Earlier this week, the FDA said that Moderna, Inc.’s vaccine, which is still pending final approval, is “highly effective”, and said there were no specific safety concerns that would preclude the agency from authorizing the vaccine’s use. This sets up Moderna’s vaccine candidate for authorization later this week, with delivery soon thereafter.
When President Trump said seven months ago that we would have a vaccine ready to deploy by the end of the year, many experts said it could never happen — that it would be a miracle. Instead, we have one vaccine already being administered and another on the verge of approval by the FDA in the coming days.
This is nothing short of a triumph for President Trump, his administration, the scientists who developed and tested the vaccines and the countless Americans that are working to distribute and administer the vaccines.
Additionally, earlier this week the FDA approved the first truly at-home, over-the-counter COVID-19 diagnostic test. The test, made by test manufacturer Ellume, will allow a patient to buy the test, administer it to themselves, and receive a result in as little as 20 minutes. While it may take some time to ramp up production of the test to make it easily accessible to most Americans, this is another encouraging sign that American ingenuity, empowered by the Trump Administration’s policies, is leading the world in the fight against the virus.
Committee leaders in the House and the Senate have announced a bi-partisan agreement on legislation to protect patients from surprise medical bills and promote a fair, equitable process for resolving billing disputes between insurers and medical providers. If approved by Congress, this will help prevent unsuspecting patients from getting stuck with enormous, unexpected medical bills after they receive treatment from an out-of-network provider. Here’s one example of both parties coming together on important healthcare legislation. We hope to pass this bill in both chambers this week. For more information on the agreement, and how the legislation will protect patients from surprise medical bills, click here.
Negotiations between congressional leaders on a COVID relief package are close to wrapping up, and I expect we will have a package to vote on in the next several days.
