A new Covid coordinator is coming to the White House

Plus: A recombined strain of omicron

The Biden Administration’s Covid-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients, will be stepping down from his role next month. He’ll be replaced by Dr. Ashish Jha, currently dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Jha is a public health expert who has consulted the Administration on Covid policy and was part of a panel that investigated handling of the ebola outbreak in 2014. 

Jha may have a hard first few weeks, however. Congress has so far declined to approve any more Covid relief money, and what money the White House has is now running dry. That includes funding for monoclonal antibody treatments, supply of which will be cut by 30% starting next week. A planned shipment of additional Covid treatments for March 25 has also been canceled. The White House will also have to scale back on a planned purchase of preventative treatments for immunocompromised patients, which means it will likely run out of them by the end of the year. The lack of funding also means the Administration will no longer be able to purchase new Covid antiviral pills, and it will also have to scale back on monitoring for new variants. 

Do you have comments or questions? Email us at health@forbes.com

More Covid News

A plant-based Covid-19 vaccine developed by Canadian pharmaceutical firm Medicago will probably not be accepted for emergency use approval by the World Health Organization. Why? Because Medicago is partially owned by cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris International.

Many refugees from Ukraine face legal roadblocks in some countries they’ve fled to, such as mandatory proof of Covid vaccination, that could prevent them accessing key transport and shelter services.

Nearly three dozen pharmaceutical companies around the world have signed agreements to produce generic versions of Pfizer’s oral Covid-19 antiviral medication in an effort to bring the treatment to low- and middle-income countries.

What Else We Are Reading

• Are ‘COVID toes’ actually caused by the coronavirus? (Nature)

• There Was Less Lightning During COVID Lockdowns, Research Finds (Discover Magazine)

• Long covid can make it hard to do your job. Here are options to stop that becoming a problem with your boss. (Washington Post)