Biologics labs have been closed, perhaps too long

Government research labs have slowly been reopening, but those focused on biologics have been staying shuttered longer than the rest, STAT’s Nicholas Florko writes. The FDA told its staff last month that it’ll keep these labs, which research vaccine and gene therapy safety and efficacy, closed until there are fewer than 10 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in the region.

Some scientists argue that this is overkill — and that scientists will take the appropriate safety precautions. “You’ve gotta open up labs, you have to let scientists get back in again,” said Ashish Jha, a Harvard researcher who created the metrics the FDA uses for its reopening protocol.

FDA scientists who are still restricted from returning to work find the scenario distressing and demoralizing. “We just want to make a contribution to protecting the public health,” one FDA scientist told STAT.