Special Coverage: Coronavirus

(AP) – Several authors of a large study that raised safety concerns about malaria drugs for coronavirus patients have retracted the report, saying independent reviewers were not able to verify information that’s been widely questioned by other scientists.

Thursday’s retraction in the journal Lancet involved a May 22 report on hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, drugs long used for preventing or treating malaria but whose safety and effectiveness for COVID-19 are unknown.

The study leaders also retracted an earlier report using the same company’s database on blood pressure drugs published by the New England Journal of Medicine. That study suggested that widely used blood pressure medicines were safe for coronavirus patients, a conclusion some other studies and heart doctor groups also have reached.

Its conclusion that the drugs were tied to a higher risk of death and heart problems in people hospitalized with COVID-19 led the World Health Organization to temporarily stop use of hydroxychloroquine in a study it is leading, and for French officials to stop allowing its use in hospitals there. Earlier this week, WHO said experts who reviewed safety information decided that its study could resume.

“Not only is there no benefit, but we saw a very consistent signal of harm,” study leader Dr. Mandeep Mehra of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston told The Associated Press when the work was published.

Dozens of scientists questioned irregularities and improbable findings in the numbers, and the other authors besides Desai said earlier this week that an independent audit would be done. In the retraction notice, those authors say Surgisphere would not give the reviewers the full data, citing confidentiality and client agreements.

“Based on this development, we can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources” and must retract the report, they wrote.

“I no longer have confidence in the origination and veracity of the data, nor the findings they have led to,” Mehra said in a separate statement Thursday.

Desai and Surgisphere did not immediately respond to request for comments sent to phone numbers and email address listed on the company’s materials.

“You really don’t know what a study showed unless you have the actual data,” Nissen said. “This is unfortunate. Clearly this is a very important topic and we need good answers.”

As long as errors are acknowledged, the pace seems justifiable because waiting a year or two for results to be published “is way too slow for this pandemic.”

“Part of the problem is people are so anxious. They want a definite answer yes or no,” Jha said. “We’re moving as fast as we can in science, but we can’t overreact to any single study.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For weeks, President Donald Trump has been eager to publicly turn the page on the coronavirus pandemic. Now fears are growing within the White House that the very thing that finally shoved the virus from center stage — mass protests over the death of George Floyd — may bring about its resurgence.

Trump this week has eagerly pronounced himself the “president of law and order” in response to the racial unrest that has swept across the nation, overshadowing the pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 105,000 Americans and imperiled his reelection prospects.

But political dangers for the president remain.

Any uptick in cases in the weeks ahead could slow the economic rebirth that Trump’s advisers believe he needs before he faces voters again in five months.

“A second wave, whether now or in September, would obviously be a setback to the economic recovery and Trump’s reelection hopes,” said Republican strategist Alex Conant. “What Trump needs more than anything is a resurgence of consumer and business confidence. A second wave or prolonged civil unrest will undermine that.”

Dr. Deborah Birx, the administration’s coronavirus coordinator, has been monitoring the protests since they began, looking for indicators of potential resurgence in cases, a White House official said. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, said Birx was expected to present the task force with early impressions this week but the fuller picture likely won’t be known for some time.

Questions are swirling about whether the White House is prepared to handle a possible resurgence after deliberately placing the government’s public health response on the back burner to put more focus on restarting state economies.

The task force received a stay of execution last month when Trump decided not to dissolve it. The group now has a smaller portfolio as the federal priority shifts to helping states safely reopen and the race for a vaccine has been put under the separate auspices of “Operation Warp Speed.”

White House officials are warily watching metropolitan areas where the protests have ignited, hoping the outdoor settings reduce the risk. The administration will also encourage governors to reestablish testing sites that were destroyed or shut down due to the protests.

Soon after the coronavirus reached American shores, the president expressed frustration at how quickly the pandemic crippled the economy, depriving Trump of his best argument for reelection. Trump also had hoped to revive his 2016 playbook to tarnish Democratic rival Joe Biden as an ineffective and corrupt Washington insider, only to have the pandemic all but suspend the campaign.

The president has spoken about the coronavirus only sparingly over the last week, mostly to level broadsides against China and the World Health Organization for what he sees as a failure to adequately warn the world about the threat of the virus. Aides have been encouraged by the lack of a significant spike in cases after Memorial Day and some states’ reopening.

Trump is slated Friday to visit a factory in Maine that makes swabs used to test for the coronavirus, his first pandemic-themed travel in more than two weeks. The event has a 2020 backdrop: Maine divides its electoral votes, and the event will be held in the state’s 2nd Congressional District, which Trump won four years ago and is banking on again this November.

All of Trump’s recent official travel has been to electoral battleground states, including Florida, Pennsylvania and Arizona, as advisers nervously track his standing in polls. His campaign has welcomed the recent shift to law-and-order themes, believing the president’s combative rhetoric and talk about sending the military into cities will reassure voters concerned about lawlessness, including senior citizens and suburban women.

Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 1.9 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, evidence that many employers are still cutting jobs even as the gradual reopening of businesses has slowed the pace of layoffs.

The total number of people who are receiving jobless aid rose slightly to 21.5 million, down from a peak of nearly 25 million two weeks ago but still at a historically high level. It shows that scattered rehiring is offsetting only some of the ongoing layoffs with the economy mired in a recession. Thursday’s latest weekly number from the Labor Department is still more than double the record high that prevailed before the viral outbreak.

Still, the number of people who applied for benefits last week marked the ninth straight decline since applications spiked in mid-March. The job market meltdown that was triggered by the coronavirus may have bottomed out as more companies call at least some of their former employees back to work.

Applications for jobless benefits are falling in states that had reopened their businesses early, such as Georgia and Texas, and are also declining in those that are still early in the reopening process, such as New York and Massachusetts.

With all states in the process of gradually reopening for business, more consumers are starting to return to restaurants, stores and hair salons. That trend has boosted consumer spending from exceedingly low levels and has likely encouraged some companies to hire again.

Since mid-March, 42.7 million people have applied for unemployment benefits. Not all of them are still unemployed, though. Some have since been rehired. And some laid-off people, it turns out, filed duplicate applications for benefits as they struggled with unresponsive state unemployment systems.

Thursday’s report wasn’t affected by the protests over the killing of George Floyd, which in recent days forced some major retailers and small businesses to close, because it covers claims filed only through May 30. But some economists warn that applications for unemployment aid could rise in next week’s report, reflecting business closures amid the protests and scattered vandalism.

“That’s going to kick up the claims again,” said Jane Oates, a former Labor Department official.

Still, real-time private data on consumer behavior is showing signs that the economy is gradually reviving. Credit and debit card spending tracked by Chase Bank shows that consumer spending, though roughly flat last week, rebounded from its low point in mid-April, when it was 40% below year-ago levels. Now, it is down 20% from a year ago.

“What’s really going to move the needle economically is when consumers and businesses feel comfortable re-engaging with the economy the way they did before COVID-19,” said Adam Kamins, a senior regional economist at Moody’s Analytics.

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nneka Ijeoma lost her job as a bartender at a whiskey bar when it closed in March. Though the bar has reopened, it has rehired only two of its 17 employees. In the meantime, Ijeoma is receiving $275 in state unemployment benefits each week, plus $600 a week in federal benefits

“We were honestly so blessed by that,” she said of the federal aid, which will expire at the end of July. “I wouldn’t have been able to get by on $275.”

Still, she is eager to return to work and to go back to school in the fall to finish her college degree. Yet she always regarded bartending as a long-term opportunity.

“I always thought I could work in hospitality forever,” she said. “I thought it was recession-proof.”

Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

LONDON (AP) — A vaccine summit hosted by the British government on Thursday raised billions of dollars to immunize children in developing countries as experts wrestled with the difficult question of how any potential vaccine against the new coronavirus might be distributed globally — and fairly.

The United Nations and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have urged that “a people’s vaccine” be developed for COVID-19 that would be freely available to everyone, calling it a “moral imperative.”

Thursday’s event, which raised $8.8 billion, exceeding its target, was a pledging conference for the vaccines alliance GAVI, which says the funds will be used to vaccinate about 300 million children in dozens of countries against diseases like malaria, pneumonia and HPV.

But experts pointed out that the unprecedented pandemic — where arguably every country will be clamoring for a vaccine — may make efforts at fair distribution extremely messy.

The worldwide scramble for masks and ventilators that erupted in the early stages of the outbreak — where France took over the country’s mask stocks so they could be given to first responders and others inside the country and the U.S. apparently paid off ventilator shippers to redirect them to the U.S — are not encouraging signs that there will be much global cooperation if and when a coronavirus vaccine is available.

The urgency of finding a way to stem outbreaks was evident as Brazil reported yet another record number of deaths over the previous 24 hours — 1,349. Brazil’s confirmed death toll of more than 32,500 is the world’s fourth-highest and is considered a significant under count due to insufficient testing.

India, meanwhile, reported a record number of infections — 9,304, with 260 deaths — as its tally of fatalities surpassed 6,000 and its number of infections rose to nearly 217,000, the world’s seventh highest.

Neighboring Pakistan reported over 4,000 new cases and 82 deaths as its confirmed cases surpassed neighboring China, jumping to 85,264. The spike came weeks after Prime Minister Imran Khan overrode warnings from experts and eased a lockdown.

“The key to that challenge is having scale and having factories all over the world that are making the vaccines,” including multiple factories in Asia, the Americas and Europe, Gates said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped Thursday’s gathering would mark “the moment when the world comes together to unite humanity in the fight against disease.”

“It’s one thing to make some sweeping statement about how important equitable access is and that we’re all going to play nicely,” he said. “But in reality, that can be turned on its head in the weeks and months ahead.

About a dozen vaccine candidates are in early stages of testing in thousands of people around the world. There are no guarantees any will work but there’s increasing hope that at least some could be ready by the end of the year. Oxford University is beginning an advanced study involving 10,000 volunteers; the U.S. is preparing for even larger studies in July that involve 30,000 people each testing different candidates, including Oxford’s and one made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc.

While Oxford scientists say they are committed to making their shot available to all who need it at a fair price, academic Whitworth noted “that doesn’t square with the rhetoric coming from British ministers funding it, saying U.K. citizens will be at the front of the queue.”

“I’m thinking very carefully what would be the best way to make sure that everybody will get a fair share of the supplies that exist as quickly as possible and that in this fairness we will not forget the unprivileged countries,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. “From the human perspective they have equal rights.”

As countries such as New Zealand and Australia mark progress in containing the pandemic and work on plans to resume some international air travel, others are having to step up precautions.

As of Thursday, more than 6.5 million people worldwide have been confirmed infected with the coronavirus and more than 386,000 have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual number of infections is thought to be much higher, due to limits on testing and many asymptomatic cases.

Neergaard contributed to this report from Alexandria, Virginia. Associated Press reporters around the world also contributed.

Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday passed legislation to make it easier for businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic to take advantage of a payroll subsidy program that’s been a central part of Washington’s response to the corresponding economic crisis.

The Senate passed the bill by voice vote after a handful of GOP opponents gave way. The measure now heads to President Donald Trump for his expected signature.

The legislation would give business owners more flexibility to use taxpayer subsidies for other costs and extend the lifespan of the program as the economy continues to struggle through record joblessness and a deep recession.

The legislation would lower an original requirement that at least 75% of Paycheck Protection Program money be used on payroll costs, reducing that threshold to 60% of the loan. It would also lengthen the period in which PPP money must be used — and still permit businesses to have their loans forgiven — from eight week to 24 weeks.

Critics say the pending measure does nothing to ensure that businesses that don’t necessarily need PPP subsidies are ineligible, among other problems.

“The impact of this crisis is long lasting, and requires lenient terms. We have all heard from small businesses in our states … that (PPP) needed some changes to make it work for so many small businesses that had been left out or rejected,” Schumer said.

All told, Congress has approved $660 billion for the program in two installments. After an initial burst of loans emptied the program in just two weeks, demand for PPP funding has dwindled amid griping from some business sectors that there are too many restrictions in order to qualify to receive loan forgiveness. Businesses receiving PPP must also certify that they need it to keep operating, a requirement that makes some business owners cautious about applying.

Johnson said Republicans are hoping to get top lawmakers to sign onto a nonbinding letter to the program’s overseers seeking to clarify some of the rules governing the program. He did not explain exactly what he’s seeking but said Republican lawmakers are close to agreement on the language of the proposed letter.

Restaurants in particular were upset that under the law were required to rehire their laid-off workers even though they were either closed or limited to takeout and delivery. Many other business owners feared that they would use up their loan money before being allowed to reopen, and then have to lay off employees again because their business wouldn’t bring in enough revenue to keep paying everyone.

Republicans such as Small Business Committee Chairman Marco Rubio of Florida complained that the carefully negotiated bill contains a drafting error that could eliminate loan forgiveness entirely for companies who want to use less than 60% of the money for payroll costs. Under the original PPP legislation, passed in March as part of a massive, about $2 trillion CARES Act, loan forgiveness was prorated according to how badly businesses missed the goal of using 75% to maintain payroll.

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