Trump buys up global supplies of Covid-19 drug remdesivir, US slammed as ‘world's most hated country’
The United States was bashed by social media users shortly after it was reported that the country has bought almost the entire world supply of Gilead's remdesivir, the first widely-approved coronavirus treatment drug. America was slammed by people as "selfish" and on the way to becoming the "most hated country in the world" after the Trump administration's move.
President Donald Trump, on Tuesday, July 1, was also accused of "undermining" the global coronavirus battle by potentially denying the rest of the world supplies of the new drug. Remdesivir is the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used in the US to treat Covid-19.
Minutes after the news broke of the US buying nearly all stocks of the drug until October, one Twitter user wrote: "If America's desire is to be the world's most hated country, they are doing well." While another wrote: "Very typical of the Americans: the whole world has to bow down and support/help them eg BLM but they give no cares to the rest of the world."
A third slammed Trump, saying: "The world needs to open their eyes. 'America First' Nationalism, isolationism, unilateralism and protectionism. They are going down a very far-right road. Trump needs to go, he values no human life but his own."
Several Americans also commented on the issue, with some saying they were ashamed of being an American. "Stories like this make me ashamed to be an American. I hope the rest of the world can get the help they need while Trump damns the rest of the world to salvage what little of his legacy is left," a user wrote.
Another wrote: "He didn't buy it for Americans or because he cares about us, he did it so other countries will beg and he'll sell it to them in return for favors. He's a monster..we hate him, hang in there world, we're working on this."
One user also lamented the cost of the drug in the United States, writing: "As an American, I want to personally say that I am sorry for Trump being so selfish. If it makes you feel better though, me and most other Americans won't be able to even afford this treatment because he's made it so expensive."
However, there were others who defended the move saying that American taxpayers funded the formulation of the drug. "It was developed partly with American tax payers money; Still Gilead licensed several other manufacturers to produce the drug for their own countries. Its the only Gilead medicine that US purchased; other companies product are for their own countries! Be grateful for America!" one user wrote.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), on Monday, June 29, announced the purchase of remdesivir. The move means that countries across the world will find it extremely difficult to get access to the potentially life-saving antiviral drug. Shortly after the health department's move, UK's business minister Nadhim Zahawi slammed Trump for making the rest of the world compete for the medication. "It's much better to work together than to work to undermine each other, so we'll continue in that spirit," the minister told Sky News.
Remdesivir was originally formulated to combat the deadly Ebola virus, however, the drug has also proven to speed up recovery time for Covid-19 patients.