HHS Vaccine Expert Sidelined by Trump Administration

According to a report by the New York Times, Dr. Rick Bright, a vaccine expert at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has alleged that he was abruptly dismissed from his role overseeing an agency centrally involved in the process of developing and ultimately making available a coronavirus vaccine for questioning investments in anti-malarial drugs. Bright served as the Director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response prior to his dismissal. He said he was “involuntarily transferred to a more limited and less impactful position at the National Institutes of Health” after he called for rigorous vetting of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug endorsed by President Trump. “I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the COVID-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit,” stated Bright. “I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science — not politics or cronyism — has to lead the way.” Bright also said that he will formally request HHS’s Inspector General “to investigate the manner in which this Administration has politicized the work of BARDA and has pressured me ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news