Biden admin spends $290 million on drugs for radiation sickness

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has purchased $290 million worth of drugs for treating radiation sickness amid escalating discussion of nuclear war.

Amgen Inc. manufactures Nplate, which the government purchased as part of its efforts to prepare for an array of disasters, including nuclear fallout, according to the Washington Free Beacon. The drug is primarily used to treat radiation sickness, which can result from exposure to areas that have suffered nuclear disasters.

The bio-manufacturer will maintain the supply, the government said.

President Joe Biden, earlier this week, signaled that he took Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats serious, which the White House later attempted to roll back.

"We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis," Biden said. Putin's "not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons because his military is, you might say, significantly underperforming."

Nuclear weapons have not been used in open conflict since their debut at Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.