NY doctor slams Gov. Cuomo for doubting potential coronavirus vaccine touted by Trump

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Cuomo's coronavirus vaccine doubt 'disheartening: Dr. Ahmed

Dr. Qanta Ahmed, New York pulmonologist, reacts to President Trump saying government won't deliver coronavirus vaccine to New York until Gov. Andrew Cuomo gives green light.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's statements casting doubt on a potential coronavirus vaccine because he doesn't trust President Trump is "disheartening," a doctor who has treated critically ill COVID-19 patients in New York City said Saturday.

Trump, speaking in the Rose Garden Friday, said the government will delay delivery of the vaccine to New York until the Democratic governor commits to distributing it "immediately."

Cuomo responded by calling Trump a "bully" and expressing confidence in a vaccine rollout managed by the incoming Biden administration.

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"To hear this kind of politicking is very disheartening, but it's also a smear on Gov. Cuomo's own record," Dr. Qanta Ahmed, a pulmonologist, said on "Fox & Friends Weekend."

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"He did extraordinary things at the height of the crisis, collaborating with the federal government and President Trump. ... He also had a very good idea doing geographical synchrony between Connecticut, New Jersey and New York," she said. "But right now we have 1,700 New Yorkers in hospitals. We lost 24 New Yorkers that died on Thursday. We have a rising prevalence rate."

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"This is not what we want to see and Gov. Cuomo did bring this upon himself by suggesting that he would formulate his own advisory panel if the FDA approved or provided emergency use authorization to any vaccine product," Ahmed said.

As Pfizer and other companies are in final stages of getting coronavirus vaccines approved, Cuomo skipped White House briefings on distribution of the vaccines, the New York Post reports.

"I want this to be quickly rectified," Ahmed said of Cuomo's reluctance to use vaccines approved under Trump.

"I want New Yorkers to have access to the vaccine as quickly as the rest of the United States, and it seems that the government of the United States is doing that and President Trump is making that possible," she said.

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Trump tweeted Saturday that Cuomo needs to "stop playing politics" with the vaccine.

The New York Attorney General's Office released a statement saying they are prepared to sue the Trump administration should New York not receive the vaccination once it is released. 

Fox News' Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.