In this wild west moment in international relations, Trump boasted this week that the US had bought the world’s entire supply of remdesivir, the antiviral drug produced by the US biotechnology company Gilead. Remdesivir is one of the few proven medications for treating Covid-19 patients. Though low- and middle-income countries can still produce their own generic versions of the drug, European and other high-income countries are not able to buy remdesivir or produce it for three months. Fortunately the UK and Germany have stockpiled enough of the drug to treat all the patients who need it.
Trump’s “America first” behaviour is in keeping with how powerful states usually behave during outbreaks. During the 2014 Ebola epidemic, an experimental therapy called Zmapp made headlines. Ebola is one of the deadliest viruses to humans and kills about 70% of people who catch it if they don’t receive medical support. Zmapp had only been trialled in 18 rhesus monkeys, but even in relatively late stages of the disease it was 100% effective in the monkeys recovering… [Read more]
Source: The Guardian
