The Race for Virus Money Is On. Lobbyists Are Standing By.
WASHINGTON — The federal government is open for coronavirus business, and the scramble to get some of it is on.
A South Carolina company has hired a lobbyist close to President Trump to try to win regulatory approval to sell a misting spray to kill coronavirus on airplanes. A Manhattan company is seeking money from the $2 trillion stimulus package for its quick-change recyclable hospital curtains. Two prominent and well-connected Republican fund-raisers have linked up with competing businesses, both claiming to be able to acquire coveted equipment like coronavirus test kits and masks.
Across the country, companies see a chance to cash in, do some good for the country or both, making virus outbreak response one of the few thriving sectors of the economy. And because so much of the business runs through Washington, the rush has created new opportunities for those who can offer access, influence and expertise in navigating bureaucratic hurdles and securing chunks of the relief package Mr. Trump signed into law on Friday.
The boomlet has left the federal agencies responsible for regulating cleaning supplies, medical devices and medicines working overtime on requests to certify products for use in coronavirus response — and to clamp down on fraud.
The Food and Drug Administration has been processing a surge in applications for coronavirus vaccine and treatment trials. But the agency also has spent considerable time and resources fighting what it calls “ fraudulent Covid-19 products .”
Likewise, the Environmental Protection Agency has been cracking down on unregistered products claiming to kill coronavirus, and processing requests to list various disinfectants as approved to kill the virus on surfaces.
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