U.S. Reps. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, and Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., penned a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar May 13 asking how the department plans to distribute the "very limited" supply of Gilead's remdesivir, an antiviral that has been shown to shorten recovery time in some COVID-19 patients.
The representatives compared receiving remdesivir to "winning the lottery," and requested HHS send them information on which states would get it as well as when and how many doses. They said the few states that have already received doses have not received any guidance or clinical trial data indicating which patients should get the drug.
"Delays in preparation for this pandemic and apparent mishandling of the first distribution of remdesivir have raised concerns about the appropriate allocation of the few available doses," the representatives wrote.
Mr. Doggett chairs the House Ways and Means health subcommittee and Ms. DeLaura leads the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations subcommittee.
They also requested information on any agreements the U.S. has with Gilead for future doses.
Read the full letter here.