‘They didn’t like me’: Trump attacks Pfizer in conspiratorial rant after FDA pauses Johnson & Johnson vaccine
This Tuesday, the Biden administration recommended a "pause" in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after reports of extremely rare blood clots in six people out of approximately 6.8 million doses that have been administered.
Former President Donald Trump took the opportunity to jump on the news, releasing a statement saying the Biden administration "did a terrible disservice to people throughout the world" in calling for the pause, adding that doing so would cause the "reputation" of the vaccine to be "permanently damaged."
"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," Trump said.
He went on to reiterate his past claim that the announcement of the Pfizer vaccine's authorization was withheld until after the election in order to harm him politically.
"They didn't like me very much because I pushed them extremely hard," Trump said in his Tuesday statement. "But if I didn't, you wouldn't have a vaccine for 3-5 years, or maybe not at all. It takes them years to act! Do your testing, clean up the record, and get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine back online quickly."
Read his full statement below:
Meridith McGraw on Twitter twitter.com
“Statement from former President Trump on the pause of J&J vaccines:"