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Trump Admin Cuts Funding From COVID-19 Researcher; 11 Secret Service Agents Test Positive, Death Toll Grows for Children and More News.
Peter Daszak is a scientist who has been working to find a cure for COVID-19. He is also the President of the EcoHealth Alliance.
Daszak said that his team tested the current breakthrough drug, remdesivir, against other viruses. His nonprofit discovered these viruses with the help of NIH research funding.
However, that funding was cut two weeks ago. This was thanks to a political disinformation campaign that targeted China’s Wuhan Institute.
This was a surprising move. Just a year ago, the Trump admin reauthorized and increased a grant to support Daszak’s work.
“Yeah, it’s definitely puzzling,” said Daszak. “I mean, this grant received an incredibly high-priority score. It was in the top 3% of grants they reviewed. And that’s unusual.”
On 60 Minutes, Maureen Miller noted that terminating an NIH grant is highly unusual.
“This is the first one I’ve ever heard of. When they terminate an NIH grant, and it’s not something that’s usually taken lightly, it is for cause,” said Miller. “There’s fraud involved at some level. There is either manipulation of the data, you’re putting your participants in harm’s way, or your data are fraudulent.”
Scott Pelley replied, saying, “And none of those things have been alleged with EcoHealth?”
“Absolutely not. None,” replied Miller.
Daszak had been spending $100k a year from the fund to collaborate with the Wuhan lab. While some research focuses on things like how to quit smoking, Daszak’s work is focusing on helping to save human lives.
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As of last week, eleven members of the US Secret Service have tested positive for COVID-19. Yahoo! News saw documents from the Department of Homeland Security. The documents reveal that there are 11 active coronavirus cases within the agency.
In addition, there are also 60 employees who are reportedly self-quarantining. Another 23 members already recovered from the virus.
We don’t yet know if the employees who tested positive worked at the White House, or if they had close contact with Vice President Mike Pence or President Donald Trump. However, Trump did say that instead of weekly COVID-19 tests, he would switch to daily testing.
Justin Whelan, a Secret Service spokesperson, said that the agency will follow guidelines from the CDC.
“To protect the privacy of our employee’s health information and for operational security, the Secret Service is not releasing how many of its employees have tested positive for COVID-19, nor how many of its employees were, or currently are, quarantined,” said Whelan.
Related: Why Do Some People Not Want to Wear Masks? Human Psychology at Play
A 5-year-old boy lost his life to an inflammatory syndrome that is believed to be linked to coronavirus. Similarly, another two children in New York have died from the same illness.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a statement on Saturday. He said, “Three young New Yorkers have died of what may be a COVID-related illness in children. We thought initially that young people were not affected by COVID-19. We’re not so sure that that is the fact anymore.”
Hospitals have identified at least 73 cases of the new condition. It is called pediatric multisymptom inflammatory syndrome, and it affects toddlers and elementary school-age children.
Nearly 100 children nationwide have received diagnoses for the syndrome. The condition can mirror symptoms of other inflammatory illnesses which include toxic shock-like syndrome and Kawasaki disease.
“This is an extremely rare and previously unknown presentation of COVID-19 in children,” said the Mount Sinai Health System in a statement on Friday.
Health officials are urging parents to seek immediate medical care for their children if they notice the following symptoms:
Related: Children at Risk: COVID-19 Causing Health Problems, Doctors Warn
