Key Facts

• Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
• HHS extended legal protections for drug makers until July 18.
• These protections apply to companies working on favipiravir, an experimental drug for Andes hantavirus.
• The drug favipiravir is being tested as a possible treatment for this particular virus.
• The legal protections come from the PREP Act, which shields drug companies from certain lawsuits during public health emergencies.
• Activists from the Make America Healthy Again group opposed the extension of these protections.
• Kennedy responded to the criticism by standing behind his decision to support the drug’s development.
• Andes hantavirus is a rare virus transmitted by rodents that can cause serious illness.