Some states desperately waiting for supplies of the drug remdesivir -- which is helpful in the treatment of the coronavirus -- are getting shortchanged by the federal government with the drug mistakenly being shipped by the federal government to other areas that have not been hit as hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Jonathan Swan of Axios, the White House has not been able to explain the snafu and no one seems willing to step forward and take the blame.
"A complete breakdown in communication and coordination within the Trump administration has undermined the distribution of a promising treatment, according to senior officials with direct knowledge of the discussions," Swan reports before adding, "The drug, remdesivir, hasn't made it to some of the high-priority hospitals where it's most needed, and administration officials have responded by shifting blame and avoiding responsibility, sources said."
Gilead Sciences, which developed the drug which is currently being tested for COVID-19 and has been issued an Emergency Use Authorization in the U.S., donated hundreds of thousands of doses to the federal government which is responsible for distribution.
However, like many pandemic efforts administered by the White House, help is not going where it is most needed.
"More than 32,000 doses of remdesivir were shipped and delivered on Tuesday to Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia," Axios reports. "But many of these doses went to 'less impacted counties,' an administration official said."
Asked about the problem that could lead to more COVID-19 patients not getting the treatment they need, one White House official thew up their hands.
"Some went to the wrong places, some went to the right places," admitted one senior official. "We don't know who gave the order. And no one is claiming responsibility."
According to the report, Vice President Mike Pence and Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx were furious when they learned about the problems.
"At Wednesday's meeting of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Pence personally directed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to take more ownership for getting remdesivir to the places where it's needed, according to a source familiar with the meeting," Swan reports. "In subsequent conversations with colleagues, Azar said he had not known about the arrangements that led to mass confusion and misaligned shipments the day before.
Azar reportedly distanced himself from the problem, "... despite the fact that one of his top officials, assistant secretary for preparedness and response Robert Kadlec, was intimately involved in the distribution plan."
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