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A little over a week ago, on May 1, a promising coronavirus treatment called remdesivir was quickly approved for emergency use in the US. As Andrew Dunn, Kimberly Leonard, and Lydia Ramsey report, it was a moment that sparked hope that scientific ingenuity could chart a path out of the health crisis.
But as they reported this week, some hospitals are having a hard time getting the drug for their patients. From their story:
Take Dr. Tony Reed, the chief medical officer at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, a hospital system that gave the drug to patients in trials to help figure out how well the coronavirus treatment works. When US regulators approved the emergency use of remdesivir, Reed and the team at Temple expected that they'd get more access to the medication. They've since been told they're not on the government's list for distribution.
"We're frustrated we're not in the haves and we're frustrated that we don't know how that decision was made," Reed said. "Frankly, I've got sick and dying patients that last week, I was able to get on the study drug, and this week I'm not able to get on the drug I know can help them."
You can read the story here:
The coronavirus drug remdesivir was OK'd for emergency use a week ago. The plan to get it to patients is still mired in confusion.
Elsewhere in healthcare news:
* Andrew reported that upstart biotech Moderna just sped up the timeline for crucial human trials of its coronavirus vaccine, readying the shot for potential use this fall.
* Lydia reported that America's biggest health insurers have been so profitable during the coronavirus that one is already giving cash back to customers, while hospitals lose billions.
* And Blake Dodge reported on HHS Protect, a secretive government project with Peter Thiel's Palantir that helps brief Trump's coronavirus task force.
The sharing economy gets sliced
It's been a rough few weeks for the sharing economy.
Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, and WeWork, all of which were founded in a four-year period starting from the depths of the great financial crisis, have slashed staff. In simple terms, the appeal of sharing space with a total stranger, whether it's in an apartment, a car, or in the kitchen of a shared office, has been dramatically reduced by the coronavirus.
At Airbnb:
* CEO Brian Chesky sent a memo to staff announcing 1,900 job cuts, which you can read in full here. It lays out severance details and which teams are getting hit the hardest.
* The memo also revealed that Airbnb expects revenues to be slashed by more than half this year.
* The company is also is ending ambitious efforts to expand into transportation and film. Bani Sapra put together a list of all the moonshot projects Airbnb is halting or scaling back to save money.
* While layoffs are always difficult, Chesky's memo won plaudits, with Shana Lebowitz reporting that the memo is a case study in how leaders can conduct layoffs in a compassionate way.
* Rob Price reported however that Airbnb's generous benefits weren't extended to contractors, reinforcing Silicon Valley's two-tier workforce culture.
At Uber and Lyft:
* Uber is cutting 3,700 jobs, 14% of its total workforce, as the coronavirus ravages ride-hailing revenue.
* Lyft let go nearly 1,000 people, or 17% of the company. Sean Czarnecki talked to company insiders who were affected about how it was handled.
And at WeWork:
* Dakin Campbell and Meghan Morris got their hands on a WeWork document detailing a reorg under way for people who manage its buildings. Their story explained how the new structure works — and the complex process for staff to save their jobs.
* Meghan and Alex Nicoll also reported that Flatiron School slashed at least 100 jobs and is permanently shuttering some campuses as part of bigger WeWork cuts.
It's not just the sharing economy that's taking a hit, of course. Elsewhere:
* Ben Pimentel reported that Glassdoor is cutting 300 workers — or 30% of its workforce — and slashing exec pay. Its CEO told employees that "it has been gut wrenching to watch COVID-19 unfold."
* Ben reported that $54 billion VMware told employees it's freezing salaries, cutting CEO and other executive pay, and suspending 401(k) matches over the impact of COVID-19. Dell said that it's "broadly" stopped hiring, meanwhile.
* Rosalie Chan reported that Stack Overflow, the site where millions of programmers get their questions answered, is reducing its workforce by 15% because of coronavirus.
* Bani Sapra reported that Segment, the $1.5 billion data analytics startup taking on Oracle and Salesforce, has cut 10% of its total staff amid the downturn.
* Bani also reported that the ongoing layoff waves could sweep thousands of tech workers out of the country, as more than 200,000 temporary foreign worker visas expire.
Walmart's vision of the future
Hayley Peterson asked Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart, for his perspective on how the coronavirus will alter the retail industry and the world. He said:
The world is seeing the importance of supply chains in a way it hasn't before. Usually supply chains operate quietly behind the scenes. But this pandemic has showed the world that the supply chain is really a lifeline. And the people in the retail industry, foodservice, and delivery services have been standing on the front lines of this crisis and extending that lifeline to all of us, every day.
I think people have also come to see that the supply chain doesn't just extend from a distribution center to the loading dock of a store. It goes all the way to the trunk of a customer's car or their doorstep. The so-called "last mile" of delivery has become front and center. This is just speeding up the significant change the retail industry was already undergoing.
You can read his answer in full here:
Walmart's CEO predicts how the retail industry and world will change as a result of the coronavirus
In related news, Eugene Kim reported that Shopify's CEO said his team had to "delete" all existing plans amid COVID-19 because the future of retail just arrived 10 years early.
Below are headlines on some of the stories you might have missed from the past week. Stay safe, everyone.
-- Matt
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