Business Minister says UK "rightly" stockpiled drug effective against Covid-19
Business minister Nadhim Zahawi said Government and firms should cooperate to ensure access to coronavirus treatments. Donald Trump’s administration in the US has bought up virtually all stocks for the next three months of remdesivir, a drug shown to work against Covid-19.
Mr Zahawi said the UK had “rightly” stockpiled dexamethasone, another drug which has proven effective in the most seriously ill Covid-19 patients, but suggested cooperation rather than competition was the way forward.
“We deliberately made sure that we had enough stock of dexamethasone, rightly so,” he said.
“But we also want to cooperate because the best outcome for the whole world is that we work together.”
He highlighted deals struck by AstraZeneca to supply a vaccine around the world if the Oxford team’s work is successful.
“By attempting to compete, I think we ultimately undermine all of our strategies,” he said. “Much better to work together than to work to undermine each other.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub