RUDY Giuliani gave a thumbs up as he left the hospital in Washington DC amid criticisms that he and other Donald Trump associates have gotten preferential medical treatment for coronavirus.
The president’s personal attorney flashed a thumbs-up to reporters and waved from his car as it left Georgetown University Hospital at around 5pm on Wednesday – four days after he tested positive for Covid.
Giuliani, who at 76 years old is considered high-risk, was admitted on Sunday to the medical center, where he was treated with the same Regeneron antibody cocktail taken by Trump during his own bout with the virus in October.
Regeneron was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month for emergency use, but it’s only available for those with “mild to moderate” symptoms – not those who are already hospitalized with severe illness.
The former mayor of New York City called into WABC radio earlier that day to update listeners on his health, saying that he now feels “10 years younger” after taking the exclusive medicines.
“I feel just about 100 percent right now. I’m going to be discharged this afternoon,” he said, adding that he’ll be quarantining for “about three or four more days” once he’s home.
He also acknowledged that his “celebrity” status allowed him access to the drug cocktail that millions of Americans don’t have.
“If it wasn’t me, I wouldn’t have been put in a hospital frankly,” he said on the air.
“Sometimes when you’re a celebrity, they’re worried if something happens to you they’re going to examine it more carefully, and do everything right.”
Giuliani’s speedy recovery and those of other Trump cronies who had Covid like Housing Secretary Ben Carson, and former New Jersey Gov Chris Christie have prompted criticisms from the medical community.
Some medical experts say that their unprecedented access is a blatant example of how Covid has become the latest example of class division.
“We should not have Chris Christie and Ben Carson — and in the case of Carson with intervention by the president — get access,” medical ethicist Arthur Caplan told the New York Times, referring to Carson’s admission that Trump “cleared” him for the treatment.
“That is not the way to secure public support for difficult rationing systems.”
Some top officials at the FDA have become concerned that people with White House connections appeared to be getting access to the antibody treatments, three senior Trump administration officials told the Times.
As Giuliani left the hospital, the US recorded 3,000 Covid deaths in a day for the first time ever.
The grim milestone comes just four days after the deadliest stretch in the nation’s history.
More than 286,000 Americans have died from the virus, while a whopping 15.1 million have been infected.
