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President Donald Trump is "playing politics" with lives with his manipulation of Colorado's ventilator request to help embattled GOP Sen. Cory Gardner's reelection, a Democratic lawmaker charges.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency hijacked 500 ventilators ordered by the state for COVID-19 patients, but Trump restored 100 as a special favor to Gardner in a move that will help the vulnerable lawmaker's reelection, complained Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.).
Rep. Diana DeGette, a veteran Democrat, said that President Donald Trump's announcement that he would send 100 ventilators to Colorado smacks of a political favor to vulnerable GOP Sen. Cory Gardner after the federal government had not fulfilled the delegation's request for the devices.
"I think this thing that happened with Sen. Gardner and President Trump is very disturbing," the Colorado Democrat told CNN Wednesday evening. "What is the process here?"
During recent appearances, President Donald Trump has energetically hyped hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine as potential miracle cures for COVID-19, even though they haven't been approved for this purpose by U.S. agencies and the only evidence that they may have a positive effect is purely anecdotal. His argument can basically be summarized like so: The drugs have proven safe in other contexts, and if they don't do anything to knock down the novel coronavirus, no harm/no foul.
Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette wants the FDA to look into the hoarding of drugs used to treat coronavirus. She said the prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine can take away the drugs from those who really need them.
Hydroxychloroquine has been touted by President Donald Trump as a treatment for COVID-19 patients. There is a dispute among medical professionals about the effectiveness of the drug for coronavirus.
Using it for coronavirus has also resulted in a huge demand and shortage.
More than a dozen House Democrats on Monday called on the Trump administration to lift restrictions on research that uses human fetal tissue to allow for studies on potential treatment for COVID-19.
The lawmakers argued in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar that such studies could lead to developing coronavirus treatments more quickly. Public health officials have estimated that a vaccine will not be available for at least another 12 to 18 months.