A previously secret group of top scientists has come up with its own plan to solve the coronavirus crisis. The team, which describes itself as the pandemic's Manhattan Project, hopes the federal government incorporates at least pieces of it, though they've acknowledged it may ultimately wind up in the shredder, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Some of the key aspects detailed in a 17-page report delivered to Cabinet members and Vice President Mike Pence include having the government purchase potential COVID-19 treatments before they're proven effective. Manufacturers would then have incentive to increase production without fear of losing money if the drugs fail, similar to other recommendations about producing vaccines before they're approved to help make delivery easier in the longer term. The group also wants to dramatically expedite the time required for a clinical review of drugs to a week from nine months to a year.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The state of Britain's Armed ForcesThe Explainer Geopolitical unrest and the unreliability of the Trump administration have led to a frantic re-evaluation of the UK's military capabilities
-
Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fishUnder the radar The fish act bolder and riskier
-
Sudoku medium: April 21, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant worldSpeed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocketSpeed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes
-
Scientists map miles of wiring in mouse brainSpeed Read Researchers have created the 'largest and most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date,' said Nature
-
Scientists genetically revive extinct 'dire wolves'Speed Read A 'de-extinction' company has revived the species made popular by HBO's 'Game of Thrones'
-
Dark energy may not doom the universe, data suggestsSpeed Read The dark energy pushing the universe apart appears to be weakening
-
Pharaoh's tomb discovered for first time in 100 yearsSpeed Read This is the first burial chamber of a pharaoh unearthed since Tutankhamun in 1922
-
Scientists report optimal method to boil an eggSpeed Read It takes two temperatures of water to achieve and no fancy gadgets
-
Europe records big leap in renewable energySpeed Read Solar power overtook coal for the first time
