On CNN Monday, Dr. Seema Yasmin said that if President Donald Trump's administration is knowingly favoring Florida for shipments of the drug hydroxychloroquine due to his relationship with the governor, it sets a terrible standard for government action on public health.
"Florida Governor Ron Desantis says shipments of the drug will be sent to some Florida hospitals, and he was able to get access to it because he's friends with the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, who put him in contact with a pharmaceutical company that makes it," said anchor Jake Tapper. "So, look, I'm sure Floridians are overjoyed that Governor DeSantis did this, and he's looking out for the people in his state. People in other states might wonder if it's fair — and who knows if hydroxychloroquine will even work, but whether or not it's fair — that his connection, his personal relationship with a member of the Trump administration, allows him to get this. What are your thoughts on that?"
"Jake, that's not how medicine and science are supposed to work," said Yasmin. "I feel like the whole story of this pandemic in the United States is a story of a system that's broken. And it's a story of unequal access to health care."
"We're still looking nationally at 27 million Americans who are uninsured, 44 million who are underinsured," she added. "It shouldn't be how well networked you are or having friends in powerful places. That's not how medicine should work. Those kind of things are bad for public health."
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