 Welcome to Wednesday's Overnight Health Care. There are more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S., including 60,316 deaths. Early results from a remdesivir clinical trial sparked hope in Anthony Fauci and others about possible treatment options for COVID-19. The National Institutes of Health plans to award $500 million to businesses and entrepreneurs with promising testing ideas, and Maryland is mandating testing in nursing homes. Let’s start with remdesivir: Fauci touts clinical trial of COVID drug as 'quite good news' Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, said results from a clinical trial of a potential COVID-19 treatment showed “quite good news.” Data from an international study of Gilead's drug remdesivir showed hospitalized patients treated with the drug recovered 31 percent faster than patients given a placebo, Fauci told reporters at the White House on Wednesday, alongside President Trump and Vice President Pence. The randomized trial of more than 1,000 people showed patients got better four days faster than those who didn't get the drug – 11 days on the drug vs. 15 days for the placebo. “Although a 31 percent improvement doesn’t seem like a knockout 100 percent, it is a very important proof of concept,” Fauci said. “What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus.” Remdesivir patients also saw an 8 percent mortality rate, which is slightly lower, but not statistically significant, from the 11.6 percent mortality rate of placebo patients, Fauci said. The drug's impact on the COVID-19 mortality rate needs further analysis, he said. Caveat: Fauci noted the study hasn’t yet been peer reviewed or published. Other experts cautioned that the drug is not a "home run" by any means, but is certainly a step in the right direction to treating COVID-19 patients. Read more here. What’s next: The Food and Drug Administration could grant an emergency use authorization, allowing doctors to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients with remdesivir. However, the agency would only say it "has been engaged in sustained and ongoing discussions with Gilead Sciences regarding making remdesivir available to patients as quickly as possible, as appropriate." Remdesivir trials are about finding a treatment, because a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is likely well over a year away. But the White House is pushing forward on a massive plan to speed that up. Trump administration launches 'Operation Warp Speed' to accelerate vaccine development The Trump administration is pushing agencies to speed up the vaccine development process in the hopes of quickly coming up with an effective way to guard against the coronavirus, two people familiar with the effort confirmed Wednesday. The push, dubbed "Operation Warp Speed," involves the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among other government agencies, according to one official. “Operation Warp Speed is clearly another extension of President Trump’s bold leadership and unwillingness to accept ‘business as usual’ approaches to addressing the COVID-19 crisis," said Michael Caputo, the assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS. Timetable: According to Bloomberg News, which first reported on the effort, the project will cost billions of dollars, most of which will be shouldered by taxpayers, with the goal of having 100 million doses ready by the end of 2020. Health officials have repeatedly said the timetable for a vaccine is between 12 and 18 months, meaning a coronavirus vaccine would likely not be ready until early- or mid-2021. Can't rush science: President Trump is pushing for the country to move quickly to open back up. But multiple industry experts and public health officials have cautioned that science takes time, and proving a vaccine is safe and effective is not going to be easy. Read more here Fan of Shark Tank? Now the NIH is launching its own version The NIH is bringing the Shark Tank TV show model of entrepreneurs pitching their ideas to a panel to the world of coronavirus testing. How it works: The NIH program will have a $500 million pot of funding, using money Congress provided in the most recent response package, that will be awarded to promising testing ideas. Ideas approved by the panel will be matched with funding as well as experts who can help develop the idea. The goal: “To make millions of accurate and easy-to-use tests per week available to all Americans by the end of summer 2020, and even more in time for the flu season.” Read more here. Related: Five things to know about where the US stands on COVID-19 tests Early studies show promise in coronavirus immunity US surpasses 60,000 deaths due to coronavirus The United States has now surpassed 60,000 domestic deaths from the novel coronavirus, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. accounts for roughly a quarter of the global deaths related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to the Johns Hopkins data citing reported figures. More than 1 million Americans have tested positive for the virus since the first U.S. case was confirmed on Jan. 21. Passing a previous Trump estimate: President Trump and members of the White House coronavirus task force at times expressed optimism that the country could keep the death count around 60,000, citing a model used by the White House that has since increased its projected domestic deaths due to COVID-19. Trump earlier this week said the nation was “probably heading to 60,000, 70,000” deaths. The University of Washington model used by the White House currently projects 72,860 domestic deaths by Aug. 4, with a range of 57,453 to 121,468, after adjusting its projections earlier this week. Read more here. White House risks backlash with coronavirus optimism White House officials are taking an optimistic view of the country’s progress in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a risky bet that could backfire if cases flare up again as more states begin lifting social distancing measures. Top administration officials in recent days have started laying out specific timetables for when they believe the pandemic will be in the rearview mirror. The sunny declarations come as the White House pushes to revive the economy that has been central to President Trump’s reelection bid. Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday that “a lot of the country should be back to normal” by June and “really rocking again” by July, calling the federal response to the virus a “great success story.” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday predicted the economy would “really bounce back” in July, August and September. Read more here. Related: Trump says current White House coronavirus guidelines will be 'fading out' Maryland to require universal coronavirus testing in nursing homes Nursing homes in Maryland will be required to test all staff and residents for COVID-19, regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms, under an executive order Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Wednesday. Nursing homes have been particularly vulnerable to coronavirus outbreaks, which have ravaged the elderly population. According to newly released information by the state, there are more than 4,300 positive cases in 143 different nursing homes across the state, and Hogan said the facilities account for nearly half of Maryland’s coronavirus deaths. Under the order, it will be mandatory for facilities to fully comply with nursing home "strike teams" deployed by the state. All nursing homes must have a physician, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, or registered nurse to evaluate all residents on a daily basis. Testing guidelines: Nursing home industry representatives across the country have been raising the alarm about the dangers of the coronavirus in nursing facilities and the need for increased testing. But until this week, federal testing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not listed symptomatic people living in long-term-care facilities as a first-tier priority. Read more here African Americans account for 80 percent of Georgia coronavirus hospitalizations: study African Americans in Georgia are hospitalized for COVID-19 at far higher rates than their white counterparts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), presenting another stark reminder of the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on people of color. In a sample of 305 patients admitted in March to eight Georgia hospitals — seven which were in Atlanta — 83.2 percent were black, while 10.8 percent were white, and 3.4 percent were Hispanic. Researchers said the proportion of hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were black was “higher than expected” compared to overall hospitalizations. For example, at four of the hospitals, 80 percent of COVID-19 patients were black, compared to 47 percent of patients overall during the month of March. “It is critical that public health officials ensure that prevention activities prioritize communities and racial groups most affected by COVID-19,” the researchers wrote. The analysis did not show, however, that African Americans were more likely to die or need mechanical ventilation during hospitalization when compared with white patients. Read more here. What we’re reading WHO is investigating whether coronavirus causes rare inflammatory disease in some kids (CNBC) A bipartisan group of former health officials seeks to sell a $46.5 billion coronavirus plan to the White House (Stat News) COVID tests are free, except when they’re not (Kaiser Health News) State by state NYC to begin coronavirus antibody testing for health workers and first responders (CNBC) Florida medical examiners were releasing coronavirus death data. The state made them stop. (Tampa Bay Times) Washington hospitals might resume elective procedures under Inslee guidance (Seattle Times) Gov. Baker defends decision to keep Mass. closed for 2 more weeks (NBC 10 Boston) The Hill op-eds Trump's plan to reimburse hospitals is a recipe for disaster The unintended consequences of a proposed cure for COVID-19 Leaders reacted to COVID with the same tools and without regard to actual dynamics | 
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