Emailed the government vaccine strategy task force, in regards to possible treatments, as i see that being more important than the vaccine itself and in particular mesoblasts possible treatment, below was the reply I was sent.
Appreciate your thoughts.
Good morning, Thank you for your enquiry of 8 September 2020 regarding possible treatments for COVID-19. The Australian Government is taking a strong and decisive approach in responding to COVID-19, based on the latest and best medical advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee and the Communicable Diseases Network Australia. On 11 March 2020, the Prime Minister announced a $2.4 billion COVID-19 National Health Plan to support our health system and protect all Australians, including vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with chronic conditions and Indigenous communities, from COVID-19. As part of the Government’s response, $95 million from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) has been invested in COVID-19 research, including for diagnostics, vaccine development, antiviral development, clinical trials, digital health research infrastructure, the human immune response to COVID-19 infection, community information needs and behavioural responses during outbreaks. Within this investment there is a $25 million COVID-19 clinical trials grant opportunity currently open to provide funding to evaluate new potential treatments for COVID-19. The Australian National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce (the Taskforce) is providing high-priority, evidence-based clinical COVID-19 guidelines that are updated weekly with the latest research. The initiative has received $1.5 million of MRFF funding. The Taskforce recommendations and the clinical guidelines may be accessed here: https://covid19evidence.net.au. Currently, the most promising treatments for COVID-19 are Dexamethasone and Remdesivir. The Taskforce recommendation for potential disease-modifying treatments such as the Mesoblast product remestemcel-L, is: for people with COVID-19, do not use other disease-modifying treatments outside of randomised trials with appropriate ethical approval. I trust this information is of assistance. Kind RegardsCOVID-19 Vaccine Strategy TaskforceHealth Economics & Research DivisionDepartment of Health
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