A previously unreported group of scientists and investors have been advising the White House on unorthodox ideas from around the world on how to combat the coronavirus pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Calling themselves Scientists to Stop Covid-19, the group describes their efforts as a pandemic-era version of the Manhattan Project that helped develop the atomic bomb and win World War II.
The group sent to Cabinet members and Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the administration's coronavirus task force, a confidential 17-page report that proposes unorthodox methods, such as treating patients with powerful drugs used against Ebola, but with much larger dosages than have been previously attempted.
National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins reportedly agreed with most of the recommendations, and some of them have already been put into practice by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to the Journal.
Those involved in the group say they are motivated by the opportunity to contribute their expertise to the battle against the coronavirus, which has caused so much suffering and economic hardship.
To make sure no one in the group could profit personally from the recommendations, they compiled a list of some two dozen pharmaceutical companies that could benefit economically from their recommendations and pledged to sell any shares in them immediately.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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