COVID-19 very close to peak in US, says FDA commissioner

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Apr 12 () The coronavirus outbreak is very close to its peak in the US, a top American health official said on Sunday as more than 20,000 people have lost their lives due to CIVID-19 in the country.

The deadly virus, to which medical science so far has not been able to find either a vaccine or a successful therapeutic solution, has killed over 20,000 Americans and infected more than 5.3 lakh, the highest in the world.

"The models do show that we are very close to the peak. So I think that information is accurate. This has been a very fast-moving outbreak," Dr Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of US Food and Drug Administration told ABC News.

He was responding to a question on the latest models, which are projecting that the US peak in terms of daily deaths would likely be Sunday.

Asserting that public safety and the welfare of Americans has to come first, Dr Hahn said this has been the constant message from the president, the vice president and within the White House Task Force on coronavirus.

"That has to ultimately drive these decisions.

"There are obviously other considerations. I have heard from friends and colleagues around the world that people really do want to get back to a more normal life than what we've had in the last several weeks, but we have got to get the data as they come in. We have to look at what we know about this illness, what's happened in other countries and put them into the situation, into the plan moving forward," Dr Hahn said.

Responding to a question on the possibility of reopening the country by May 1, a day after the social distancing measure ends on April 30, the FDA commissioner said it is a target.

"We're hopeful about that target, but I think it's too early to be able to tell that. We see light at the end of the tunnel... We see the incredible resiliency of the American people with respect to social distancing, hand washing and all of those mitigation factors. So, that gives me great hope.

"But I think it's just too early for us to say whether May 1 is that date. But more to come on that as we learn more information, and as our planning proceeds," Dr Hahn said.

According to him there are a lot of factors that will go into this. One, is the geographic location, the number of tests the number of people infected.

"If you look at the testing where it is right now, the strategic approach has been to focus that testing in the hotspot areas, where if people come forward and are sick, as many as 30 to 40 per cent test positive, whereas in other areas where there aren't a lot of sick people, and some rural areas, it's less than five per cent.

"So our strategy moving forward for opening up the country has to take all of those factors into account. And yes, further ramping up testing, both diagnostic as well as the antibody tests will really be necessary as we move beyond May and into the summer months and then into the fall," Dr Hahn added. LKJ CPS