Apr 12, 2020 - Health

FDA commissioner warns about accuracy of unapproved antibody tests

Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, warned on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that antibody tests for the coronavirus that haven't undergone the FDA's scientific review "may not be as accurate as we'd like them to be."

Why it matters: Developing the antibody tests, which are used to determine whether a person previously had the coronavirus and is therefore immune, will be crucial to understanding the scale of the outbreak. Some U.S. officials consider the development of an effective test to be a key step in being able to reopen the economy.

  • So far, the FDA has authorized only one antibody test under an "Emergency Use Authorization."

What they're saying: "We know that no test is 100% perfect," Hahn said. "But what we don't want are widely inaccurate tests because as I said before, that's going to be much worse having wildly inaccurate tests than having no tests."

Go deeper: The FDA's about-face on coronavirus antibody testing

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Danielle Alberti, Ursula Perano
24 mins ago - Politics & Policy

America's rush for young poll workers

Note: Colorado is a mail-in ballot state, but they also offer in-person polls.; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Local elections officials are sprinting to recruit younger poll workers ahead of November after elderly staff stayed home en masse to avoid coronavirus during primary elections.

Why it matters: A Pew Research analysis reports that 58% of U.S. poll workers in the 2018 midterms were 61 or older. Poll worker shortages can cause hours-long voting lines and shutter precincts.

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Axios
Updated 56 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3:30 p.m. ET: 18,897,857 — Total deaths: 710,136— Total recoveries — 11,402,427 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3:30 p.m. ET: 4,854,690 — Total deaths: 159,433 — Total recoveries: 1,577,851 — Total tests: 58,920,975 — Map.
  3. Politics: Pelosi rips GOP over stimulus negotiations: "Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn" — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tests positive.
  4. Public health: Fauci says task force will examine aerosolized spread.
  5. Business: The health care sector imploded in Q2 — More farmers are declaring bankruptcy — July's jobs report could be an inflection point for the recovery.
  6. Sports: Where college football's biggest conferences stand on playing.
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Axios
1 hour ago - Podcasts

America's middle class pandemic

Each day that goes by without a COVID-19 stimulus agreement is another day of worry for many in America's middle class, which was already shrinking before the pandemic began.

Axios Re:Cap digs into middle class myths and realities with Jim Tankersley, a New York Times economics reporter and author of the new book, "The Riches of This Land."