And Publicprivate Partnership in the fight against covid19. [indistinct conversations] senator dont believe this. Now its on. Senator is it . Ok. The hearing of the health, labor, and Pensions Committee will please come to order. As we begin our hearing i would like to explain the changes we have made to address the health and safety recommendations made by the attending physician and sergeant at arms after they consulted with the department of health and Human Services at the centers for Disease Control and prevention. Seating has been spaced so we are six feet apart and we have made it possible for senators and witnesses to participate by Video Conference if they choose to do so, and several have. To maintain social distancing, we have very limited seating and dont have room formulas of the public to attend, however this hearing is available to watch a live online and a recording will be available on the committee health. Www. Senate. Gov. The hearing will be shown from gaveltogavel in its entirety, unedited by anyone from the moment that we start until the very end that we stop. Due to the limited seating, representatives of the press are working as a pool to relay observations to their colleagues and senators and staff present have been reminded about the safety guidelines put in place by the attending physician. We all wore our masks. Im not going to wear mine during the hearing, since we are six feet apart, but senators may do whatever they choose to do. I would like to thank the rules committee, the sergeant at arms, the architect of the capitol, capitol police, Nonpartisan Committee staff for all of their hard work to help keep us all safe as we conducted these important hearing. In april, the owners of a Senior Living facility gave of covid19 diagnostics test to 2500 at their and residents 26 communities in tennessee and kentucky and according to the there were very few who tested positive of the 2500 and those that tested positive were all without symptoms and they were all put in quarantine. This is what he told the newspaper from tennessee. Because of the fear we decided the only way to make sure residents didnt have the virus was to test them. There is no substitute for. Esting everybody all roads back to work and back to school lead through testing. Our country will soon be doing 2 million diagnostic tests for covid19 per week. An impressive number. But to contain the disease and give americans confidence that it is safe to go back to work and school, we will need tens of millions of tests. Many more than our Current Technologies can produce. First tos necessary identify the small number of us who have the disease or who have so that thoseo it americans can be quarantined so that we dont have to quarantine the whole country. Testing is important, secondly, because it will help americans who are traumatized by the daily reports of the virus. It will help us to gain the confidence necessary to go back to work and school. This hearing is about how we will find those new technologies that are needed to rapidly produce tens of millions of tests in one of the most ambitious Scientific Enterprises by onent memory, headed of our countrys most distinguished scientists. Looking ahead i want to mention two important oversight activities for the committee. Number one, next tuesday our hearing will examine how we are dealing with this pandemic covid19. Dr. Witnesses will be anthony fauci, director of the National Institute of allergy and infectious disease, dr. , the assistant secretary for health at the u. S. Department of health and human hahn,es, and dr. Stephen commissioner of the fda. The second oversight activity i would like to mention is that during the next few months, our committee will examine why are what our country needs to do for the next pandemic that will surely come. I think that congress should put in place the structures and the funding to be ready for the next pandemic during this year, while the Current Crisis is still on our minds. Over the last 20 years, the last and severalents congresses, including after sars,bird flu, katrina, and ebola, have passed several major laws that created a. Ational stockpile provided incentives for development manufacturing, diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines, strengthened the centers for Disease Control, and for the last five years thanks to the leadership of senators blunt, marie, and others, they have provided record funding for the National Institutes of health. We will talk about the importance of preparing for the next pandemic at the hearing next tuesday. As a result of all of that effort, with three president s and several congresses over the , the New York Times reported the following on , most experts agree that the United States is one of the countrys best prepared to prevent or manage such an epidemic. But i think we would all agree that we would have liked to have been even better prepared for covid19, as everybodys responsibility is to make sure we are even better prepared or the next infectious disease. I want to play for the record a remarkable speech by the former Senate Majority leader, bill thet, who saw clearly then problems we still have to do you with today. On april 19 they punt published his essay, storm that we were unprepared for, which i would also include in the record. The end of the crisis will be determined by three things, tests, treatments, and vaccines. There is promising news we are likely to hear more from today and treatments and therapies will be available this summer and the administrations warped speed pursuit of a vaccine has a goal of 100 million doses by the byl and 300 million doses january, a target much more ambitious than has ever been achieved before. The private sector has demonstrated a capacity to turn out quickly tens of millions of serology tests. The tests that determine whether you have had the disease and have the antibodies that might create some immunity for a time, although that is not proving yet. This week is taking aggressive steps to make sure these tests are accurate. After a bumpy start caused mainly by a faulty test , United Statesc is now conducting over one million diagnostic tests weekly. By mid june there will be two and a half million available to dr. Deborahng birx, coordinator of the Coronavirus Task force. As of yesterday, according to President Trump and john hopkins university, the United States has conducted over 7 million diagnostic tests. May 1, the wall street journal described the testing situation this way. Tests, have approved 70 more than approved for the flu virus of 2009. More tests per capita have been performed in new york city than in singapore, south korea, and australia. Hospitals and labs have performed 1. 6 million tests in the past week according to the covid tracking project and last week Governor Andrew Cuomo said the tests would be available through some 5000 pharmacies across new york state and abbott labs says they have shipped one million tests for their machines in the field that can return isults in five minutes and manufacturing 50,000 kits per day. U. S. Hospitals have more than 5000 fast testing machines that require no special training. Some 93 of the u. S. Population lives within 10 miles of a test site, according to the wall street journal. The testing has expanded the , where there is a shortage of nose swabs and chemical reagents, but the shortages are easing things like the resourcefulness of private prop , allowing polyester swabs, swap manufacturers can prioritize. Onavirus kits that is the end of the summary. The task force submits that dates have submitted their goals, testing from a, and the administration is working to help provide swabs that states are not able to obtain on the commercial market so that states can meet the goals. That is all very impressive. But not nearly enough. To test every nursing home, every prison, everyone in an operating room, and some entire classes, campuses, and factories , team sports events, to give those tests more than once, we will need millions more tests than we are producing today. The demand will only grow as the andtry goes back to work someone hundred thousand Public Schools and 5000 colleges plan to reopen this august. There are two ways to increase Testing Capacity and of course, the first is to squeeze every possible test out of Current Technologies. The second is to focus today on the need for new testing technologies. Throughout march and april, senator blunt of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee had many conversations with experts in the government and across the private sector and we couldnt find anyone who thought the Current Technology could produce the tens of millions of tests necessary to put the virus behind us. So, we worked to include in the 1. 5 recent legislation billion dollars for what we called a competitive shark tank. The name was described after the thatty Television Show pits entrepreneurs in a competition to see who can succeed. At the National Institutes of health would utilize the capacities of government itself in coordination with the private out all the stops in fasttrack new technologies designed to produce tens of millions of tests and by august, at least millions more tests by august and even millions more than that by the flu season. We allocated another 1 billion for medical advanced research of Development Authorities to work with the National Institute of health to accelerate production of those. Speaking the scientists across the country there are many ideas , some using crisper Gene Editing Technology and one of them allows you to use her cell test to photograph your swab results, send it to your doctor, several million incorporate wearable technology. Theres a lot of talk about antigen test. The nih only five days after the funding was signed into law announced the official start of its Shark Tank Program to boost the most promising testing technologies. There were 400 requests for applications in the first 24 hours as of may the fifth and im sure dr. Collins will update us on this, there were 800 and andxpressions of interest 50 applications have been submitted and reviewed. Many of these earlystage concepts wont work. Or they wont be able to be scaled up quickly enough. But thats ok. Thomas edison said he tried 10,000 times and made 10,000 mistakes before he produced the first incandescent lightbulb. We hope we dont have that many we need aret all two or three successes, or even one from the shark tank. The first place to find these technologies is at the National Institute of health, dr. Francis collins leads the nih, once led the effort to map the human genome, here to talk about the 1. 5 billion shark tank. The second place, a division of the department of health, working across government, the private sector invest in multiple innovative ideas to and easyccurate, fast, testing capabilities to build new capacity. Is acting director of barta here to talk especially about their role in scaling up whatever new innovative tests dr. Collins finds. They have another 1 billion for that purpose, agreeing to 2. 5 million in total effort for this acceleration of diagnostic tests. 80 years ago, in 1942, president Franklin D Roosevelt invited senator mckellar of tennessee, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee, to the white house for a private talk. Senator mckellar, president roosevelt said, i would like for 2 million in the appropriations bill to create a project to win the war. Senator mckellar said mr. President , that should be no problem, i just have one question. Where, in tennessee, where will the project be built . Well, that was oak ridge, tennessee. That 2 million funded the Manhattan Project that, in record time, produced to Nuclear Devices that one world war ii. World war ii. The greatest number of distinguished scientists working on one project in history. The shark tank is at least a mini Manhattan Project. It doesnt have to be in tennessee, but the tennesseans of the Oak Ridge National laboratory will be helping it to succeed with their supercomputers and other assets. 2. 5 billion does not go as far today as it did in 1942, but it is still a lot of money and it is likely that at this moment more scientists are working to create solutions for covid19 than on any other project in the world. Their success in delivering new technologies to create simple diagnostic tests with quick results and then safe and effective treatments for way thisis the only will happen. Forward to safe path combat the Novel Coronavirus without adequate trip adequate testing. Let us hope that out of dr. Collins shark tank will emerge one mighty great white shark that will help us to combat this disease. Senator murray . Senator murray thank you very much, chairman alexander. Good to be here today with you. I also want to thank the Committee Staff who help us to set up this technology to make this hearing possible and of course, thank you to the witnesses for being here today as well. Waslast hearing on covid19 march 3. Hearing i expressed my intense frustration at the administrations lack of preparedness and its failure to ramp up testing. The white house constant contradictions of Public Health expert guidance and more. 60 daysre more than later and i wish i could say that i have Better Things to say about the administrations response, but i do not. The only difference is that now over 800 people in my home state have died, nationwide now more than 73,000 are dead. Tens of millions are unemployed. Meanwhile, the president is still denying the severity of the crisis. Still insisting that it is not his problem and is increasingly attempting to control and silence those who want the truth to be told. The president is afraid of the truth, because here it is. He failed and continues to fail to protect lives, our economy, and our way of life. Which brings me to our Witnesses Today. I appreciate you being here and i expect you to tell the truth today. I will want to know your honest assessment of where we stand on Testing Capacity and whether we are preparing appropriately to have a safe, effective vaccine as soon as possible. I will want to understand how you are planning to prioritize Public Health over political influence and corporate profits. I will want your commitment that you will protect workers at hhs who will speak out when they see that Public Health is not being served. Dr. Driscoll, you are here instead of dr. Wright, who filed a complaint this week detailing a shocking culture of corruption that prioritize cronyism over Public Health, including at an agency critical for Vaccine Development and distribution. You can expect a question from me on that and i expect the truth from you. While i appreciate the interests in this Shark Tank Initiative to develop new tests, we have to remember that the fight against this virus, its reality, not Reality Television and it has to be led by scientists and prioritize Public Health. Not profit or politics. Innovation plays an Important Role in the development of vaccines and treatment, there is no silver bullet. In fact we have already innovated faster tests, at Home Collection tests, and critically there is much more in the pipeline. The problem is not lack of innovation, its lack of leadership and a plan from this white house. Carcan innovate the fastest in the world but it wont get you to where you are going without a good driver and directions. When it comes to testing, the administration has had no map and no one at the wheel. There is a reason, they say, that failing to plan is planning to fail. The fastest and most innovative work is not much use if we dont know how many tests we need or have a supply chain with the capacity to manufacture all the tests and devices that we need and we dont have the workforce or lab capacity to use the test. ,nd even if we had enough tests labs, and workers, it cant have the necessary impact if it isnt distributed widely across the country, if it doesnt reach a in other service communities, people with disabilities, homebound seniors, communities of color, and high risk populations. If tests dont become available to the asymptomatic or if we dont enforce current law that requires testing for everyone. Free testing for everyone. Addressing these issues wont be thegh without plans to use results as effectively as possible to fight the coronavirus like rapidly recruiting, training, supporting what we need for Public Health efforts like Contact Tracing, quarantine isolation, using data to surveillance and track within the community while protecting privacy. The