"Rick Bright was abruptly dismissed this week as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority."
"WASHINGTON — The official who led the federal agency involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine said on Wednesday that he was removed from his post after he pressed for rigorous vetting of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug embraced by President Trump as a coronavirus treatment, and that the administration had put “politics and cronyism ahead of science.”
Rick Bright was abruptly dismissed this week as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, and removed as the deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response. He was given a narrower job at the National Institutes of Health.
In a scorching statement, Dr. Bright, who received a Ph.D. in immunology and molecular pathogenesis from Emory University, assailed the leadership at the health department, saying he was pressured to direct money toward hydroxychloroquine, one of several “potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections” and repeatedly described by the president as a potential “game changer” in the fight against the virus.
“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,” he said in his statement. “I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science — not politics or cronyism — has to lead the way.”"
Michael D. Shear and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times April 22, 2020.
SEE ALSO:
"Ousted Vaccine Expert Battles With Trump Team Over His Abrupt Dismissal" (Politico)
"Director of Key Federal Vaccine Agency Says His Departure Was Retaliation" (CNN)
"NIH Panel Recommends Against Drug Combination Promoted By Trump For COVID-19" (NPR)
"Fox News Stars Trumpeted a Malaria Drug, Until They Didn’t" (New York Times)
"More Deaths, No Benefit From Malaria Drug in VA Virus Study" (AP)
"This Expert Will Cure Your Excitement for Hydroxychloroquine" (Mother Jones)
"7 Answers to Questions About the Malaria Drug Trump Keeps Pushing" (New York Times)
"Small Chloroquine Study Halted Over Risk of Fatal Heart Complications" (New York Times)
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