President Joe Biden’s administration purchased $290 million of anti-radiation medication this week amid threats of nuclear war repeatedly issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Biden also warned this week that “the prospect of [nuclear] Armageddon” is real and Putin was “not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.”
In a press release published on Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed the purchase of the drug Nplate, which the department described as a medication “approved to treat blood cell injuries that accompany acute radiation syndrome in adult and pediatric patients (ARS).”
“ARS, also known as radiation sickness, occurs when a person’s entire body is exposed to a high dose of penetrating radiation, reaching internal organs in a matter of seconds,” the release stated. “Symptoms of ARS injuries include impaired blood clotting as a result of low platelet counts, which can lead to uncontrolled and life-threatening bleeding.”
Bought from California-based Amgen USA Inc., Nplate “stimulates the body’s production of platelets.” Nplate can be used to treat adults and children.
While the HHS insisted the purchase is “part of long-standing, ongoing efforts to be better prepared to save lives following radiological and nuclear emergencies,” the move was approved days before Biden warned that Putin was “not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons,” the New York Post reported.
“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” the president said during a fundraiser in New York.
Adding to growing fears of nuclear war, a Russian train was spotted transporting equipment from a Russian military unit which handles nuclear weapons, according to an unconfirmed video, CBS News reported.
Konrad Muzyka, an aerospace and defense consultant, told CBS that the video is “a very good example of Russian strategy of trying to increase the pressure on the West” and signal that Russia is willing “to escalate the situation.”
