Former US President Donald Trump slammed the Joe Biden administration for conspiring with Pfizer, claiming that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was halted amid the news of it causing rare clotting problems because of an alleged political ploy.
According to the CDC, one of the six recorded cases resulted in death and another in serious condition. However, Trump claims the FDA's halt is proof of the agency's alleged collusion with Pfizer.
"The Biden Administration did a terrible disservice to people throughout the world by allowing the FDA and CDC to call a "pause" in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. [...] The people who have already taken the vaccine will be up in arms, and perhaps all of this was done for politics or perhaps it's the FDA's love for Pfizer," he wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
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— Stephanie Myers (@_StephanieMyers) April 13, 2021
Former President Trump releases a statement, saying "The Biden Administration did a terrible disservice to people throughout the world by allowing the FDA and CDC to call a 'pause' in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine." pic.twitter.com/OpguM4m8Mo
"Remember, it was the FDA working with Pfizer, who announced the vaccine approval two days before the 2020 Presidential Election," Trump said. "They didn't like me very much because I pushed them extremely hard."
If it hadn't been for his badgering, US pharmaceutical and biotech firms would not have created a coronavirus vaccine for another 3-5 years, according to the former president, since "It takes them years to act!"
Trump's comment follows his previous remarks said last week in which he slammed top immunologist Anthony Fauci, who led the White House coronavirus response under President Trump and is now in the Biden administration.
Fauci is "so full of crap," Trump said during a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday, claiming he wants the US residents to wear five masks. The former president also reportedly blasted Fauci yet again for his weak throw at a baseball game last month.
Earlier, Trump claimed Pfizer deliberately waited until after the election to reveal their vaccine breakthrough, which included data showing it is more than 90% successful.