WHAT IS AN ANARCHIST

AMERICAN LIBERTARIAN

Ammon Hennacy was born July 24, 1893 in Negley, Ohio. His formal education consisted of one year each at three institutions: Hiram College in Ohio (1913), University of Wisconsin (1914), and Ohio State University (1915). With the outbreak of World War I he refused to register for military service and consequently served two years in the U.S. Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1919 he married (common law). In 1921 he and his wife hiked throughout the forty-eight contiguous states. Between 1925-1929 he purchased a farm and became the father of two children. In 1931 he engaged in social work in Milwaukee. There he organized one of the first social workers' unions. With the coming of World War II he again refused to register for the draft. Between 1942 and 1953 he worked as a migrant laborer in the Southwest. He became baptized into the Roman Catholic Church in 1952 by an anarchist priest. Between 1953 and 1961 he was an associate editor of the Catholic Worker, located in the Bowery area of New York City. His picketing activities included annual air raid drill protests in New York City between 1955 and 1961. He also expressed protest against war preparation by picketing the Atomic Energy Commission at Las Vegas (1957), Cape Kennedy (1958), Washington, DC (1958), and Mead Field in Omaha (1959). In 1961 he organized and directed the Joe Hill House of Hospitality in remembrance of the martyrdom of Joe Hill. While in Utah he was involved in picketing and fasting protests against scheduled executions of condemned prisoners at the State Prison, fasting on various occasions for periods ranging from 12 to 45 consecutive days. In 1965 he married Joan Thomas, and formally left the Catholic Church. From that time on he wished to be known as a non-church Christian. In 1968 he was forced to close his fourth Joe Hill House, and from then on he devoted himself to his writing. At the same time, he continued to picket and fast against scheduled executions and payment of taxes for war. Shortly after the publication of his book, The One-Man Revolution in America, he suffered a heart attack while picketing for Lance and Kelback, two convicted murderers scheduled to be executed. He died six days later, on January 14, 1970. -- 

Joan Thomas, widow of Ammon Hennacy

Ammon Hennacy - The Catholic Worker - The Catholic Worke

Ammon Hennacy was born on 24 July 1893 in Neglio, Ohio. He was active in the radical political movements of his day and campaigned vigorously for the ...

Ammon Hennacy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Ammon_Hennacy

Ammon Ashford Hennacy (July 24, 1893 – January 14, 1970) was an American Christian pacifist, anarchist, social activist, member of the Catholic Worker Movement, and Wobbly. He established the Joe Hill House of Hospitality in Salt Lake City, Utah and practiced tax resistance.

Date of death: January 14, 1970

Cause of death: Myocardial infarction

‎Biography · ‎Political and ethical beliefs · ‎Bibliography

Ammon Hennacy, Christian Anarchist | Libertarianism.org

www.libertarianism.org › articles › ammon-hennacy-ch...

3 days ago — Ammon Hennacy believed he had a duty as a Christian to help others directly and to oppose the state.

The “One-Man Revolution” of Ammon Hennacy • TPL

sniggle.net › TPL › index5

The “One-Man Revolution” of Ammon Hennacy. I had a fantastic vacation in Veracruz, but vacation though it was, I couldn't leave The Picket Line behind entirely ...

Ammon Hennacy papers 1918-1966

quod.lib.umich.edu › sclead › umich-scl-hennacy

Ammon Hennacy (1893-1970) was an anarchist, Christian, door-to-door salesman, pacifist, social worker, and consistent, lifelong activist. He published three ...

This super-beetle can survive being run over by a car -- and help with engineering problems


By Amy Woodyatt, CNN
Updated Wed October 21, 2020



VIDEO This beetle can get run over by a car and live to tell the tale 01:18
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/21/world/beetle-engineering-intl-scli-scn/index.html


(CNN)Scientists developing new materials are studying an unlikely source of strength: a beetle that can withstand being run over by a car.

Researchers from Purdue University and the University of California, Irvine, studied the aptly named diabolical ironclad beetle -- Phloeodes diabolicus -- to understand the secret behind its strength.

"If you take any beetle, and you want to collapse it with your finger, you can probably kill it," he told CNN.

But not the diabolical ironclad beetle. "This beetle is so tough that the energy or the force that you can do with your hand, it's not enough -- it's like a piece of rock," Pablo D. Zavattieri, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue and a study author, told CNN. "The tire of a car is not enough to collapse it."


The findings were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.


Experts wanted to understand why, in the hopes of re-creating such strength in construction materials.

Using advanced microscopy, spectroscopy and in situ mechanical testing, researchers identified the architectural designs within the creature's exoskeleton.
The scientists discovered that the diabolical ironclad beetle's super-toughness lies in its armor. The insect has two armorlike "elytron" -- used in flying beetles to deploy wings -- that meet at a line, called a suture, running the length of its abdomen.


A CT scan of the diabolical ironclad beetle shows how its organs are spaced beneath a super-tough exoskeleton.

Millions of years ago, most beetles flew, Zavattieri explained. "This particular beetle, as part of the evolution process, it doesn't fly any more," he said.

Though the diabolical ironclad beetle doesn't use its elyton for flight, the elytra and connective suture instead help to distribute applied force more evenly throughout the insect's body.

Zavattieri explained that the suture acts like a jigsaw puzzle, connecting the creature's various exoskeletal blades in the abdomen, which lock to prevent themselves from pulling out.


If the suture is broken, another protective mechanism also allows for the blades to deform slowly. That prevents a sudden release of energy, which would otherwise snap the beetle's neck.

Using steel plates, the team of researchers discovered that the creature can take an applied force of 150 newtons -- some 39,000 times its body weight -- before its exoskeleton starts to fracture.

A car tire would apply force of around 100 newtons if driving over the insect on a dirt surface, scientists said.

The team hopes that in better understanding how the beetle withstands such force, they can develop tougher materials.

One of the critical problems in engineering is connecting materials of different compositions, for example, connecting aluminum and steel, in fields like aerospace, Zavattieri told CNN.

For example, when building aircraft turbines, metals are often joined to composite materials with mechanical fasteners, which can add weight, introduce stress and ultimately lead to features and corrosion in the structure.

"We have the materials. One of the engineering issues is how to connect them," Zavattieri said.

"We can use these sutures -- they are showing you the way the beetle does it -- to improve the toughness of these," he said.

"This is a good example of how nature uses this connection," he said. "Every single time we look at nature, we learn something new."

New images show NASA spacecraft's historic landing and sample collection on asteroid

By Ashley Strickland, CNN
Updated Wed October 21, 2020

VIDEO
See NASA spacecraft successfully land on an asteroid

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/21/world/nasa-asteroid-bennu-new-images-scn-trnd/index.html

CNN New images taken by the OSIRIS-REx mission show the historic first touchdown of a NASA spacecraft on the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft collected a sample that will be returned to Earth in 2023.

In the images, which were stitched together to show the spacecraft touching down, the spacecraft's robotic arm appeared to crush some of the porous rocks on the surface. A nitrogen gas bottle fired on the surface appeared to stir up a substantial amount of material in a "rubble shower." The spacecraft then spent five seconds collecting that material before backing away.



Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
On October 21, NASA released images captured by cameras on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft showing its successful and historic touchdown on the asteroid Bennu.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
This image shows the moment the spacecraft briefly used its robotic arm to touch the surface of Bennu, crushing porous rocks in the process.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
The spacecraft fired a pressurized nitrogen bottle, using the gas to lift the disturbed material and pebbles so it could collect them as a sample.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
NASA's OSIRIS-REx touched down on asteroid Bennu on October 20. This illustration shows the spacecraft approaching the asteroid.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
This mosaic image of Bennu is composed of 12 images collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 kilometers).
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
This drawing shows an artist's concept of what it will look like when the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touches asteroid Bennu with its robot arm to grab a sample of the asteroid.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
This image shows asteroid Bennu ejecting rock particles from its surface on Jan. 19, 2019. It was created by combining two images taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
This view of sample site Nightingale on asteroid Bennu is a mosaic of images collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
OSIRIS-REx pulled within 12 miles of the diamond-shaped space rock when it arrived at the asteroid on December 3, 2018.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
An artist's concept of what the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft looks like as it orbits asteroid Bennu.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
Pictured are the four candidate sample collection sites on asteroid Bennu selected by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. Site Nightingale (top left) is located in Bennu's northern hemisphere. Sites Kingfisher (top right) and Osprey (bottom left) are located in Bennu's equatorial region. Site Sandpiper (bottom right) is located in Bennu's southern hemisphere. Nightingale was ultimately chosen, and the others serve as backup sites.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Denver. It is 20.25 feet in length (6.2 meters) with its solar arrays deployed. Its width is 8 feet (2.43 meters) x 8 feet (2.43 meters). Its height is 10.33 feet (3.15 meters). It's powered by two solar panels that generate between 1,226 watts and 3,000 watts of energy. It has five instruments to explore asteroid Bennu and also has a robot arm to touch the asteroid long enough to collect a sample.
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
These radar images of asteroid Bennu were obtained by NASA's Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, California, on September 23, 1999. This is when they first discovered the asteroid.
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https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/21/world/nasa-asteroid-bennu-new-images-scn-trnd/index.html

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is in "good health" after the event which occurred on Tuesday, according to the mission's team. Data and images were sent back by the spacecraft overnight and shared by the agency on Wednesday.

Data from the spacecraft shows it touched down within 3 feet of the targeted location -- all while the spacecraft autonomously worked through commands sent ahead of time, using its advanced navigation system to help it land without assistance from Earth due to a 18.5-minute communication delay.



This graphic shows the spot where the spacecraft touched down on the asteroid.
Although all of the data sent back by the spacecraft so far indicates that everything happened as planned during the "Touch-and-Go" event, called TAG, it will take the mission teams about a week to determine how much of a sample was collected by the spacecraft.
The required amount for the sample is about 60 grams -- about a full-size candy bar -- but the capsule can hold up to 2 kilograms of material from the asteroid's surface

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Since launching in 2016, the mission has been filled with surprises and firsts, challenging its team to think on their feet as the asteroid revealed information that ultimately changed how NASA would attempt its first collection of a sample from an asteroid.

NASA mission successfully touched down on asteroid Bennu
Located more than 200 million miles from Earth, Bennu is a boulder-studded asteroid shaped like a spinning top and as tall as the Empire State Building. It's a "rubble pile" asteroid, which is a grouping of rocks held together by gravity rather than a single object.
The OSIRIS-REx mission stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer.

Rather than the sandy beach-like surface the mission team was expecting at first, it turns out that Bennu is covered in building-size boulders. It's also actively ejecting little rocks, pebbles and particles into space -- as first witnessed by the spacecraft's cameras soon after arriving at the asteroid in December 2018.

The spacecraft orbited the asteroid for nearly two years, observing it in detail. This resulted in the closest orbit for a spacecraft around an object, setting a Guinness World Record. It's also the smallest body to be orbited by a NASA spacecraft. And Bennu has now been mapped in greater detail than our own moon or any other celestial body in our solar system.

Due to the rocky nature of the asteroid, which could have spelled doom for the spacecraft attempting to collect a sample from it, the team had to pick its collection site carefully and shrink the landing site to one-tenth of its original size.

Imagine a van that can seat 15 passengers flying through space and approaching a rock that has the height of the Empire State Building and is rapidly rotating.

The landing site, called Nightingale, is 52 feet in diameter, about the size of a few parking spaces. This is where the spacecraft briefly touched the asteroid with its 11-foot robotic arm for just seconds on Wednesday. The touchdown and sample collection occurred about 4.5 hours after the spacecraft departed orbit around the asteroid and slowly descended.

Data has shown that the arm touched the surface of the asteroid and fired a burst of nitrogen gas, stirring up dust and pebbles that could be stowed by the arm's collection head.
After the collection, the spacecraft backed away from the asteroid to safety.

"This amazing first for NASA demonstrates how an incredible team from across the country came together and persevered through incredible challenges to expand the boundaries of knowledge," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement after the event on Tuesday. "Our industry, academic, and international partners have made it possible to hold a piece of the most ancient solar system in our hands."

What's next

The mission team over the next week will use a camera on the spacecraft to take pictures of the collection head on the robotic arm to try and determine how much of a sample was collected.

The spacecraft will also perform a bit of a pirouette on Saturday, spinning about an axis that is perpendicular to its robotic arm, to determine the mass of the sample. The team will analyze this data and make a decision by October 30 if they have collected a sufficient sample.

"We will use the combination of data from TAG and the post-TAG images and mass measurement to assess our confidence that we have collected at least 60 grams of sample," said Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in a statement. "If our confidence is high, we'll make the decision to stow the sample on October 30."

Stowing the sample means that the mission team on Earth will send a command to the spacecraft to place the sample collection head in the sample return capsule, which is located inside the spacecraft's body.

Once everything is sealed, the spacecraft will prepare to depart Bennu in March 2021. This is when the asteroid will be aligned with Earth for a shorter trip home.

If the spacecraft did not collect enough of a sample, OSIRIS-REx will attempt another TAG at the backup Osprey landing site on the asteroid. This TAG event would occur on January 12, 2021

Once the spacecraft has a sufficient sample, it will travel back to Earth, parachuting into Utah's west desert on September 24, 2023.

What we can learn from a sample

There are more than a million known asteroids in our solar system, but Bennu was singled out for the OSIRIS-REx mission because it fit certain criteria regarding size, location and composition, according to Heather Enos, the mission's deputy principal investigator at the University of Arizona.
Bennu's sample won't be the first asteroid sample returned to Earth. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency , known as JAXA, collected a sample from the asteroid Ryugu during their Hayabusa2 mission. It should be returned to Earth in December.


2 different asteroids visited by spacecraft may have once been part of 1 larger asteroid
The two mission teams have collaborated closely throughout their missions and will be exchanging a portion of the samples collected from each asteroid. The NASA team hopes that its mission will collect a sample with "significantly more mass" because its sampling method is a little different from Hayabusa2's approach, according to NASA.

Enos hopes for a "completely full capsule" that represents Bennu's carbon-rich composition and hydrated minerals, both discovered based on observations and data sent back by OSIRIS-REx over the last two years. She also hopes that the sample includes a variety of sizes of material, including tiny grains and small pieces that have chipped off of the large yet weak and porous boulders on Bennu.

What scientists learned after firing a small cannonball into a near-Earth asteroid

"Diversity is the key to get the most out of this sample," Enos said.
Scientists are already anticipating what they could learn from the returned sample. They don't expect to find life on the asteroid, which has been subjected to intense radiation, but the building blocks of life may be present in organic molecules and hydrated minerals on the asteroid.

Recently, scientists discovered that the fine material at the Nightingale site was only recently exposed to the space environment. This means that the material gathered by OSIRIS-REx will be some of the most pristine material on the asteroid.

A NASA mission's delicate dance to collect samples from a rugged asteroid

"One of the prime goals of the mission is to understand the origins of the solar system and life on Earth, and the role asteroids may have played in delivering life-forming compounds on Earth," said Jamie Elsila, a research scientist at Goddard, during Monday's press conference.

Asteroids may have also delivered these compounds to other planets in the solar system.

A Japanese spacecraft is coming back to Earth with samples from a nearby asteroid

Cutting-edge instruments in labs on Earth will be used to analyze portions of the sample. This is vastly preferable to studying meteorite fragments that land on Earth and are contaminated by our environment, she said.

However, the mission will archive 75% of the collected material. Much like samples from the Apollo 17 mission to the moon that were recently opened, scientists hope that future generations could learn more than we are currently able.

"This will allow people not yet born using techniques not yet invented to answer questions not yet asked," Elsila said. "But we're really looking forward to searching for these organic molecules, these building blocks, and determining their formation, evolution and distribution throughout the solar system. Then, we can figure out how life got started from those ingredients."

NOT A #CRYPTID 

The 'Caspian Sea Monster' rises from the grave
Miquel Ros, CNN • Updated 22nd October 2020
















Sea beast: The only Soviet-era Lun-class ekranoplan ever completed has been left to rust for 30 years, but now this remarkable flying machine is on the move.
Musa Salgereyev/TASS/Getty Images

(CNN) — Beached on the western shores of the Caspian Sea, it looks like a colossal aquatic beast -- a bizarre creation more at home in the deep than above the waves. It certainly doesn't look like something that could ever fly.

But fly it did -- albeit a long time ago.

After lying dormant for more than three decades, the Caspian Sea Monster has been on the move again. One of the most eye-catching flying machines ever built, it's completing what could be its final journey.

In July of this year after 14 hours at sea, a flotilla of three tugs and two escort vessels maneuvered slowly along the shores of the Caspian Sea to deliver their bulky special cargo to its destination, a stretch of coast near Russia's southernmost point.

It's here, next to the ancient city of Derbent, in Russia's republic of Dagestan, that the 380-ton "Lun-class Ekranoplan" has found its new, and most likely definitive, home.

The last of its breed to sail the waters of the Caspian, "Lun" was abandoned after the 1990s collapse of the Soviet Union, condemned to rust away at Kaspiysk naval base, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) up the coast from Derbent.

But before it could fade into oblivion, it's been rescued thanks to plans to make it a tourist attraction right at a time when this unusual travel concept could be poised to make a comeback.

Related content

Antonov An-225: World's biggest unfinished airplane lies hidden in warehouse

Speed and stealth

The 380-ton "Lun-class Ekraonoplan" has moved for the first time in 30 years.
Musa Salgereyev/TASS/Getty Images

Ground Effect Vehicles, also known as "ekranoplans," are a sort of hybrid between airplanes and ships. They move over water without actually touching it.
The International Maritime Organization classifies them as ships, but, in fact, they derive their unique high-speed capabilities from the fact that they skim the surface of the water at a height of between one and five meters (three to 16 feet).
They take advantage of an aerodynamic principle called "ground effect."
This combination of speed and stealth -- their proximity to the surface while flying makes them difficult to detect by radar -- got the attention of the Soviet military, which experimented with several variants of the concept during the Cold War.
Their deployment on the vast inland body of water between the Soviet Union and Iran led to them acquiring the nickname "Caspian Sea Monster."

The "Lun" ekranoplan was one of the last designs to come out of the Soviet ground effect vehicle program. Longer than an Airbus A380 superjumbo and almost as tall, despite its size and weight, the Lun was capable of reaching speeds of up to 550 kilometers per hour (340 mph) thanks to eight powerful turbofans located on its stubby wings.
This formidable machine was even able to take off and land in stormy conditions, with waves of up to two and a half meters. Its intended mission was to conduct lightning sea-borne attacks with the six anti-ship missiles it carried in launch tubes placed at the top of its hull.

Star attraction

I love it when an ekranoplan comes together.
Musa Salgereyev/TASS/Getty Images

The ekranoplan that has been moved to Derbent is the only one of its class ever completed and entered service in 1987.
A second Lun, unarmed and assigned to rescue and supply missions, was at an advanced state of completion when, in the early 1990s, the whole program was canceled and the existing Lun withdrawn from service.
After 30-plus years of inaction, getting this sea beast back on the move was no easy task, requiring the assistance of rubber pontoons and a carefully coordinated choreography involving several vessels.
"Lun" will be the star of Derbent's planned Patriot Park, a military museum and theme park that will display different sorts of Soviet and Russian military equipment.
Construction of the park is expected to start later in 2020. For the time being, Lun will sit alone on the beach.
It looks set to become a new highlight for visitors to Derbent. The city claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in Russian territory. Its citadel and historical center have been designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.
Related contentSweden's new car carrier is the world's largest wind-powered vessel

Second wave




The sea beast was powered by eight powerful turbofans.
Denis Abramov/Sputnik/AP
"Lun" will add to the attractions of a region that, up until the coronavirus pandemic, had seen a number of initiatives to open it up to tourism, including the launch of cruise itineraries in the Caspian Sea.
When it opens, Derbent's Patriot Park won't be the only Russian museum exhibiting an ekranoplan. A much smaller Orlyonok-class ekranoplan can be found at the Russian Navy Museum in Moscow.
While ground effect vehicles fell out of favor in the past few decades, the concept has been experiencing a resurgence of late
Developers in Singapore, the United States, China and Russia are working on different projects that aim to bring ekranoplans back to life, although with rather more peaceful purposes.




Singapore-based Wigetworks is hoping to create a modern version of the ekranoplan.
Courtesy Wiget Works
One of them is Singapore-based Wigetworks, whose AirFish 8 prototype builds upon groundwork done by German engineers Hanno Fischer and Alexander Lippisch during the Cold War.
Wigetworks acquired the patents and intellectual property rights and have set about trying to improve and update those earlier designs to create a modern ground effect vehicle.
Also in Asia, Chinese ekranoplan Xiangzhou 1 flew for the first time in 2017, although little is known about this project.
Related contentGiant flying machines: 10 of the world's largest aircraft

Delivery drones




The Flying Ship Company is developing an unmanned ground effect vehicle.
Courtesy Flying Ship Company
In the United States, The Flying Ship Company, a startup backed by private investors, is working on an unmanned ground effect vehicle to move cargo at high speed. Think unmanned delivery drones but over water.
The project is at its early stages, although founder and CEO Bill Peterson tells CNN his team is planning to bring this project to fruition within a seven-year timeframe.
And Russia, home of the ekranoplan, hasn't given up on the concept.
Several projects have been touted during the past few years, although none has managed to make it past the design stage yet.
Beriev, a maker of jet-powered amphibious aircraft, came up with the Be-2500 concept, and, more recently, it has been reported by Russian media that a new-generation military ekranoplan, tentatively named "Orlan," was under consideration.
Another, privately funded, project has sprung out of Nizhny Novgorod, an industrial city on the banks of the Volga River closely connected with the origins of ekranoplan technology. RDC Aqualines, which has also offices in Singapore, is developing its own line of commercial ekranoplans able to carry three, eight and 12 passengers, and might possibly expand to more.
Its designs have caught the eye of a group of entrepreneurs which aims to establish a fast link across the Gulf of Finland, connecting Helsinki to the Estonian capital, Tallinn, in about 30 minutes.
It might be that soon you won't need to visit a museum to spot an ekranoplan, after all.

 

FDA's advisers worry about trust in Covid-19 vaccine

From CNN Health’s Maggie Fox

A sign for the Food And Drug Administration is seen outside of the agency's headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, on July 20. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration said Thursday they are worried about public trust in any coronavirus vaccine. 

The first Covid-19-focused meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee -- a standing committee that advises the FDA on vaccine approval -- skewed heavily toward worries that people will see emergency use authorization (EUA) of a Covid-19 vaccine as too rushed. 

“There’s only one chance to do this right. If we do it wrong, then we are done for,” said Sheldon Toubman, staff attorney for the New Haven Legal Assistance Association who is the consumer representative on the committee.
“We won’t be able to dig out of it.”

The FDA has said it would consider an EUA for any of the several vaccines now in advanced clinical trials -- a process faster than full licensure -- but has also promised it will have stricter requirements for a vaccine EUA than it would for an EUA for a drug to treat coronavirus.

But the term implies corners are being cut -- and perceptions matter, Toubman argued.

“So anything that sounds like emergency use authorization, it sounds like it’s being done in a rush and it’s not full review,” he said. 
“I recommend that we not do an EUA here.”

Some vaccine experts agreed. “I wish we could get rid of the word EUA,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a committee member.

“It’s very clear that the public has significant concerns about safety,” added Dr. Archana Chatterjee, Vice President for Medical Affairs at Rosalind Franklin University and a committee member.

6 hr 23 min ago

Data shows Covid-19 treatment remdesivir isn't a "home run," says former vaccine director 

From CNN Health’s Lauren Mascarenhas

Data on the Covid-19 drug remdesivir show that it has only modest benefits and isn’t a “home run,” former US Health and Human Services official-turned whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright said Thursday.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved remdesivir Thursday to treat hospitalized Covid-19 patients -- the first drug to be approved for coronavirus. 

Bright said it’s not an impressive drug.

“It's important to note that even the data that we saw in the United States from that drug show that the benefit was modest,” Bright told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “It wasn't a home run. It wasn't a remarkable improvement in terms of mortality, or even the lengthening or shortening of the length of hospital stay, but it did show some marginal benefit.”

A World Health Organization-sponsored global study found that remdesivir did not help Covid-19 patients survive or recover faster. 

“The FDA clearly has reviewed all of the data that they have available to them from the company to review the efficacy and safety of that drug,” Bright said. 

“It’s not too surprising that another, perhaps even larger, well-controlled study from the WHO would refute that data,” he added.

Bright said that it’s likely that larger studies, like the WHO’s, would show that the marginal benefit of remdesivir may become even more marginal, depending on the population of those using the drug.

6 hr 23 min ago

Remdesivir becomes first Covid-19 treatment to receive FDA approval

From CNN's Maggie Fox

One vial of the drug Remdesivir lies during a press conference at the University Hospital Eppendorf (UKE) in Hamburg, Germany on April 8. Ulrich Perrey/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved remdesivir for the treatment of coronavirus infection, the drug's maker, Gilead Sciences, said Thursday.

It is the first drug to be approved for treating Covid-19. The drug, sold under the brand name Veklury, has been used under emergency use authorization since May.

The antiviral has shown, at best, a modest benefit for coronavirus patients. But there is little else available.

"In the United States, Veklury is indicated for adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older and weighing at least 40 kg) for the treatment of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization," the company said in a statement.
"Veklury should only be administered in a hospital or in a healthcare setting capable of providing acute care comparable to inpatient hospital care."

Earlier this month, a World Health Organization-sponsored global study found remdesivir did not help patients survive or even recover faster, but a US study found the infused drug shortened recovery time for some patients by about a third.

Read the full story: https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/10/remdesivir-gets-full-fda-approval-as.html

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FDA approves remdesivir to treat Covid-19