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Donald Trump slams FDA for delaying Pfizer report till election was over, says Democrats stopped his 'vaccine win'

Trump’s tweets slamming the timing of the vaccine came as the FDA authorized the use of Eli Lilly and Co’s experimental Covid-19 antibody treatment, something the president vowed to make free for all Americans

President Donald Trump, who has been left licking the wounds inflicted by a heartbreaking defeat to Joe Biden in the just held presidential elections, has now taken on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accusing it of delaying work on the coronavirus vaccination purposefully to dash his re-election chances. The incumbent’s reaction came after Pfizer on Monday, November 9, announced that its vaccination for the deadly Covid-19 pandemic was proved to be 90 percent effective in clinical trials. The data will now go to the FDA and once the latter gives the nod, a mass vaccination program can be launched. 

Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr, who has been strongly backing his father in this election season, called the timing “nefarious” and cited the not-so-smooth relation between the incumbent and the pharmaceutical industry to be the reason behind it. He said Trump was hated by the pharmaceuticals because he forced them to reduce their prices. 

Trump goes after FDA, Democrats, Pfizer

Trump, 74, posted a tweet on Monday night in which he accused the FDA of trying to sabotage his campaign. Even though the body is led by Stephen Hahn, the commissioner who Trump himself appointed last year. Just like he has held the opponent Democrats and the media responsible for the adverse election results, the Republican said in his tweet: “The @USFDA and the Democrats didn't want to have me get a Vaccine WIN, prior to the election, so instead it came out five days later – As I've said all along!”

In another post, he targeted Biden saying had the latter been the president, America would neither have the remedy for another four years nor the FDA would have approved it so fast. He said the bureaucracy would have ruined millions of lives. In a third tweet, Trump took a dig at Pfizer and others saying they would only announce a vaccine after the election got over, claiming they did not have the courage to do it before. He slammed the FDA again, saying the latter should have announced it earlier and did not do it for political purposes but for saving lives. 

Trump’s tweet slamming the timing of the vaccine came as the FDA authorized the use of Eli Lilly and Co’s experimental Covid-19 antibody treatment, something the president vowed to make free for all Americans. 

More than 10 million have been affected by the coronavirus while more than 230,000 were killed, upsetting Trump’s re-election chances – thanks to the economic turmoil besides the public health crisis. 

The morning though did not show the day. Trump initially expressed his excitement over the announcement, tweeting in capital cases: “STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS!”

Andrew Cuomo doesn't want Trump administration to roll out vaccine plan

But New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on ‘Good Morning America’ on Monday that he and other governors were trying to stop the Trump administration’s roll-out plan. 
'It's good news, bad news. The bad news is it's about two months before Joe Biden takes over and it means this administration is going to be implementing a vaccine plan,” the Democrat, who found himself at odds with the president a number of times during the fight against coronavirus, told the anchor. 

"It's very important. The Trump administration is rolling out the plan and I believe it's flawed."

"When you deny a problem the way Trump did, you can never solve it. They're going to go through the private mechanism – through drug market chains. You have two months and we can't let this vaccination plan go forward the way the Trump administration is planning it. I've been talking to Governors across the nation about that," Cuomo said.

"How can we shape the Trump administration vaccine plan to fix it or stop it before it does damage?"

Texas Senator Ted Cruz tweeted Cuomo's remarks were “revealing”. 

The FDA said on Monday its emergency-use authorization was based on clinical trials that showed the treatment reduced the requirement for hospitalization or emergency room visits for Covid-19 patients at high risk. Bamlanivimab, the antibody, can be used for treating mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults and children over the age of 12, the FDA said.

“As illustrated by today's action, the FDA remains committed to expediting the development and availability of potential COVID-19 treatments and providing sick patients timely access to new therapies where appropriate, while at the same time supporting research to further evaluate whether they are safe and effective,” Hahn said in a release on Monday. "Through our Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program, the FDA continues to work around the clock and use every tool at our disposal toward these efforts."

Biden said he was informed about the vaccine efficacy only on Sunday, November 8.