Heidi Alexander: “just 3\1/2\ months ago, a sneaky, dangerous virus turned our country and the world upside down. It is hard to believe…”

“just 3\1/2\ months ago, a sneaky, dangerous virus turned our country and the world upside down. It is hard to believe that it was just 3\1/2\ months ago--mid-March--that we were headed toward March Madness in basketball; that our economy was roaring; that unemployment rates for about every category were as low as they had been in a long, long time. America felt really good about itself. By the time we would have gotten to the Fourth of July, it would have been a terrific celebration except that here came this dangerous, sneaky virus that turned our lives and those in countries all over the world upside down. I want to comment this afternoon on some aspects of where we are in terms of COVID-19 based upon five congressional hearings this month that I have either chaired or attended in our HELP Committee or the one I participated in today in Senator Blunt's Appropriations Committee on Health. Of course, Senator Murray, of Washington State, is the ranking Democrat on both of those committees. Of course, much of the talk is about vaccines. Even though we have appropriated $3 trillion and another astonishing $3 trillion in credit, that is not going to really solve the problem. The only cure for this disease, this virus, will ultimately be through testing, treatments, and vaccines. It is appropriate that we talk about vaccines because our country is moving more rapidly than it ever has in producing a safe and effective vaccine for a new virus. As Dr.…”