Healthcare

FLASHBACK: WHO Senior Official Said ‘If I had COVID-19, I want to be treated in China’

Published

3 years ago

April 17, 2020

Senior Advisor to the World Health Organization’s Director-General Dr. Bruce Aylward said in February that if he was diagnosed with COVID-19, he would want to be treated in China.

“The first thing in the response is there has to be a shift in mindsets. Again, around the world, people are thinking oh gosh how do we live with this and manage this disaster instead of gosh this virus is gonna show up in our country, we’re gonna find it within the first week,” he said at the time.

Dr. Aylward led the WHO’s mission to China in February and praised the Chinese government’s response to the emerging epidemic and described their efforts to contain the virus as “ambitious, agile and aggressive” after he and his team returned.

“We’re going to find every case. We’re going to go after every contact. We are going to make sure that we isolate them and keep these people alive.” Dr. Aylward explained, “So they survive in the case. The rest of the world would access the expertise of China. They’ve done this at scale. They know what they’re doing and they’re really really good at it. And they’re really keen to help.”

He added, “If I had COVID-19, I would want to be treated in China.”

Dr. Aylward and the WHO are under intense scrutiny by the Trump administration after President Donald Trump announced this week that he’s pausing U.S. funding to the organization over its alleged “China-centric” nature.

If you ever had any doubt about the Chinese communist party's influence over the @WHO, this short, crazy clip, an @rthk_news (#HongKong) interview on #CCPvirus with WHO official Dr. Bruce Aylward will clear that up. Deeply troubling.pic.twitter.com/itf9RNV7yl

— Jan Jekielek (@JanJekielek) March 28, 2020

Some of what the President was referring to comes from Dr. Aylward’s response to the pandemic. During a recent interview with a Hong Kong based-reporter Taiwan’s status with the WHO (it’s currently banned from membership), however, he responded that she had “already talked about China” and then hung up when pressed again to comment.

Related Topics:coronavirus Dr. Aylward Dr. Tedros world health organization

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China

FDA will work with China to import cancer drugs due to U.S. shortages

Published

2 days ago

June 7, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Earlier this week the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will be working to import chemotherapy drugs from, of all places, China. The drug, called Cisplatin, is to help “ramp up supply amidst rampant drug shortages in the U.S.” reports Foreign Desk News.

Foreign Desk News writes:

Cisplatin comes from drugmaker Qilu Pharmaceutical, which is marketed and produced in China but has not been approved by the FDA. According to a May 24 letter, Qilu will work with the Canadian-based drug company Apotex to import and distribute the medication, which will come in 50-milligram vials with Chinese labels.

“The FDA is responding to yet another generic drug shortage,” said Edmund F. Haislmaier, an expert in healthcare policy and markets at The Heritage Foundation. “The underlying cause of those shortages is that generic drugs have become low-margin commodity products,” he added.

Last week on Twitter, FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said the partnership with Qilu Pharmaceutical is temporary but will provide patients with a potentially life-extending drug.

“The public should rest assured that we will continue all efforts within our authority to help the industry that manufactures and distributes these drugs meet all patient needs for the oncology drugs impacted by shortages,” Califf said.

The public should rest assured that we will continue all efforts within our authority to help the industry that manufactures and distributes these drugs meet all patient needs for the oncology drugs impacted by shortages. https://t.co/8XvOuJzSL4

— Dr. Robert M. Califf (@DrCaliff_FDA) June 3, 2023

Foreign Desk News adds:

The latest move by the FDA is sure to spark concern and debate in Congress, as lawmakers in the House and Senate have called on the Biden administration to de-couple the U.S. economy from the Chinese markets, given Beijing’s aggressive push to expand in the South-China Sea and eventually take over the island state of Taiwan. China has also spread illegal and dangerous synthetic opioids and fentanyl drugs across the U.S. southern border, resulting in the devastating deaths of many Americans.