May 16, 2020 - Health

NFL facilities can reopen next week, with some restrictions

The NFL logo at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Photo: Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

NFL clubs can reopen next Tuesday so long as they abide by public health requirements previously outlined by the league, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday.

Driving the news: The NFL released its 2020 schedule last week and is operating as if it will have a full season, although some contingency plans are in place for delaying playoffs and the Super Bowl if necessary, Axios' Kendall Baker reports.

Where it stands: NFL facilities have been closed since March 25 due to the coronavirus pandemic. NFL facilities can reopen, with the blessing of their state government, if some phase one rules are followed:

  • Clubs can allow at most 50% of staff at once, with no more than 75 people present.
  • Coaching staff is not allowed to return to facilities, but other employees — including medical staff — can return based on the club's discretion.
  • Retail shops cannot yet reopen.
  • No players are permitted back in facilities unless they are undergoing medical treatment.

Go deeper: May will be the month that live sports come back

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Aug 23, 2020 - Health

Ex-FDA chief rebukes Trump over claim that "deep state" has slowed virus treatments

Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Sunday that he rejects President Trump's claim that the "deep state" at the FDA is delaying coronavirus treatments and vaccines for political reasons, telling CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday: "It is a foundational truth that what guides that agency is science."

Why it matters: Gottlieb served as FDA commissioner for two years under the Trump administration. He pushed back on claims from Trump and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that the agency's bureaucrats don't understand the "urgency" of the moment, saying, "To say these products aren't moving at a historic pace I think is wrong."

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Updated Aug 23, 2020 - Politics & Policy

FDA announces emergency authorization of plasma treatment for COVID-19

Photo: Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images

The FDA announced Sunday it will grant an emergency use authorization (EUA) of convalescent plasma as a treatment for the coronavirus, one day after President Trump accused the agency of slow-walking the development of vaccines and therapeutics to hurt him politically.

The state of play: The authorization for plasma, which is safe but not yet proven to work on COVID-19, had been on hold after federal health officials intervened with the FDA last week and argued that the current data on the effectiveness of the treatment was too weak, the New York Times reported.

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Updated Oct 25, 2020 - Health

13 states set single-day coronavirus case records last week

Data: Compiled by Axios; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

13 states set new highs last week for coronavirus infections recorded in a single day, according to the COVID Tracking Project (CTP) and state health departments. Kansas, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming surpassed records from the previous week.

The big picture: The pandemic is getting worse again across the country, and daily coronavirus cases have risen in the U.S. for six straight weeks, according to a seven-day average tracked by Axios. The U.S. reported over 80,000 new cases on both Friday and Saturday.

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