Johnson & Johnson’s business continuity statement
Johnson & Johnson today released a business continuity statement in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Johnson & Johnson is closely monitoring the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation and taking steps to help prevent the spread of the virus as well as exploring the potential for a vaccine,” the company wrote. “We have robust business continuity plans in place across our global supply chain network to prepare for unforeseen events and to meet the needs of the patients, customers and consumers who depend on our products. These steps include maintaining critical inventory at major distribution centers away from high-risk areas and working with external suppliers to support our preparedness plans. “We are closely monitoring product demand and supply levels across our global network to ensure adequate and effective distribution, and working diligently to meet patient, customer and consumer need…” Read the full statement here.
Cook Medical’s preparedness for COVID-19
Cook Medical today shared a “high-level summary” of its preparations around COVID-19, so that its providers can “feel confident in our ability to support you during this situation.” “First, we have global and regional response teams in place to maintain continuity of supply and service. Our customer support teams are able, if it becomes necessary, to work remotely to take your orders,” Cook said. “We are also working closely with local government agencies and couriers to monitor the situation and make contingency plans to ensure we can deliver products. As a critical measure, we have identified priority products that are especially important to patient care or could be used in the treatment of COVID-19. “We have staffing and supplier contingency plans for our global manufacturing sites as well. It is important to note that we are not experiencing disruption in our operations or delivery of products due to COVID-19 at this time. “Lastly, we have…” Read the full summary here.
FDA approves new Roche coronavirus test that is 10 times faster
The FDA has approved a new coronavirus test that will speed up by tenfold the ability to test patients. It was granted “emergency use authorization” and runs on Roche Holding AG’s cobas 6800/8800 systems. The 8800 system is capable of testing 4,128 patients per day, and the 6800 version can test as many as 1,440 per day. It is also available in Europe and countries that accept the CE mark for medical devices. This is the third test, and first commercially available one, granted emergency approval by the FDA. In February, the agency cleared diagnostic tools brought forth by the CDC and the New York State Department of Public Health. More on the Roche test here.
Dr. Fauci says testing logjam improving
Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIAID director with the NIH, told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today that the major involvement of the private sector in the testing process should break a logjam that has limited testing for the virus. He acknowledged a “disconnect” in the past few weeks that is beginning to be untangled. “Hopefully this is behind us,” he told the program. “Within a week we are going to see a real escalation of testing and within two or three weeks we will see major progress.” Read more from Dr. Fauci here.
CDC asks hospitals to share data on PPE inventories
The CDC is working on a system that would track the inventory of personal protective equipment (PPE) across the U.S. However, hospitals have considered this information confidential until now and sharing this information has become a big hurdle. Beyond the strategic national stockpile which the U.S. government controls, nobody knows what is already in the private sector. As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the nation, hospitals are more protective than ever about their supply. The CDC is actively trying to avoid such scarcity and the costs associated with shortages. Right now, public health agencies only know what’s in government stockpiles of protective gear. Read more from NPR here.
Labs fear shortage of supplies as coronavirus testing increases
Shortages of key materials and chemicals needed to run tests for the novel coronavirus are a fear of laboratories across the country. Some say they are already beginning to run low of the supplies needed to extract RNA from nasal swabs. Others are weighing whether to borrow some materials from other research labs as public health officials scramble to get enough tests following a botched rollout of testing kits by the CDC and a delay by the FDA in allowing independent labs to develop their own test. The RNA extraction kits “are usually things we wouldn’t ever even wonder if they were running out, because they’re always around,” Michael Mina, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told the New York Times. “But in this case, because everyone in the world is trying to extract RNA right now, they seem to be low.” Read more from the New York Times here.
More coronavirus resources from The Journal of Healthcare Contracting:
- FAQ/Insights – Helpful and relevant links to help you keep track of the ongoing epidemic