WATCH: FDA Commissioner Hahn on getting medical therapeutics to COVID-19 patients

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, asked U.S. health officials on Tuesday about remdesivir, a drug that recently received an emergency use authorization to potentially treat COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. “The decision-making behind these allocations is very unclear,” said Collins, who noted that she had gotten questions from Maine hospitals about how the therapeutic would be allocated going forward. “How can these allocation and distribution issues be resolved so patient care is not delayed and it doesn’t depend which state you live in?” In response, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said there has to be an “evidence-based approach” to getting medical therapeutics like remdesivir to people in need, in the future. He said “we learned a lot of lessons” from the remdesivir situation, which is being led by the department of Health and Human Services. He noted that more shipments of remdesivir would be provided to hospitalized COVID-19 patients throughout the U.S., and that “valuable lessons” would be incorporated into their operations moving forward.

Leading U.S. health officials on Tuesday appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to answer questions about safely reopening schools and workplaces. In addition to Hahn, Centers on Disease Control and Prevention Direct Robert Redfield, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Health Adm. Brett Giroir also spoke before the committee.

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