Cuomo gave preferential COVID-19 testing access to New York-based pharmaceutical exec: Report

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New York-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals President Dr. George Yancopoulos was among those given preferential access to COVID-19 testing early in the pandemic by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, according to a report.

The company requested tests from the state on behalf of Yancopoulos and his family after a member of the household became ill, a spokesperson confirmed to Fox News in a statement on Friday.

The family was tested at home last March, according to The New York Times, at a time when testing supplies were in critically short supply.

Spokespeople for governor’s office did not return Fox News’ request for comment.

A spokesperson for Regeneron noted that Dr. Yancopoulos has played a pivotal role in responding to the pandemic, "directly leading the company’s ambitious and successful efforts to advance our COVID-19 antibody therapy in record time."

The company is the maker of monoclonal antibody drug treatment it says can reduce COVID-19 hospitalization or death by 70 percent in non-hospitalized patients.

As noted by the publication, Regeneron announced on April 1, 2020, that it would donate 500,000 COVID-19 test kits to the state amid the nationwide shortage.

CUOMO IMPEACHMENT PROBE LOOKING INTO WHETHER FAMILY GOT PREFERENTIAL ACCESS TO COVID-19 TESTS

As previously reported by Fox News, the impeachment probe being carried out by the New York State legislature will look into whether relatives of Gov. Cuomo received preferential access to testing supplies. It will also examine claims of sexual harassment and the treatment of nursing home patients during the pandemic.

The Albany Times Union reported on Thursday that high-level officials in the Cuomo administration were directed to prioritize testing on the governor’s relatives and other people with ties to the administration.

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In addition to some of Cuomo’s relatives, the publication reported that Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and his wife, as well as Patrick J. Foye, head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, were among those prioritized.

The samples of these prioritized individuals were rushed to a lab with instructions for immediate processing, according to The New York Times.

New York was the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak early in the pandemic, and the state struggled to combat an intense surge in virus cases for months.