(Photo: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Handout via REUTERS/Third party image)
Dr. Rick Bright, the vaccine expert and whistleblower fired from his job for refusing to support president Donald Trump's hydroxychloroquine push, affirms the Trump administration doesn't have a national strategy to deal with COVID-19. It's this lack of planning that's taken the United States to the point where it now faces "the darkest winter in modern history," he said.
A virologist, Dr, Bright, was the former head of BARDA (the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority), a biodefense agency in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). BARDA is involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine.
Dr. Bright alleges he was ousted from this position and demoted to a lower rank after warning the Trump administration to prepare for the pandemic and for refusing to promote hydroxychloroquine, which Trump falsely claimed is an effective cure for COVID-19.
On May 5, Dr. Bright formally filed an extensive whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. In his complaint, Dr. Bright said he was ousted after refusing to promote the use of hydroxychloroquine and other drugs to treat COVID-19 patients. He also said his ouster was due to his "insistence" the administration only fund "safe and scientifically vetted solutions" to address the coronavirus crisis and not "drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit."
A federal watchdog agency has found "reasonable grounds" Dr.Bright was illegally removed from his post as BARDA head after sounding the alarm at DHHS. On Thursday before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's health subcommittee, Dr. Bright assailed the Trump administration for not having a "standard, centralized, coordinated plan" to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We don't have (a vaccine plan) yet, and it is a significant concern," he said. Asked if Congress should be worried, Dr. Bright responded, "absolutely."
"Our window of opportunity is closing," said Dr. Bright. "If we fail to develop a national coordinated response, based in science, I fear the pandemic will get far worse and be prolonged, causing unprecedented illness and fatalities."
He also warned that "Without better planning, 2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history."
Dr. Bright urged the Trump administration to consider a number of actions to stem quell the pandemic. He recommends the administration increase production of essential equipment and establish both a national test strategy and a national standard of procurement of supplies.
He called on top officials to lead by example and wear face coverings and social distance. Trump has never worn a face mask in public and adamantly refuses to do so. Dr. Bright said the administration missed "early warning signals" to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
