Vaccine warning
Whistleblower says US has no plan for a supply chain to produce, distribute doses
Appearing before a House committee, whistleblower Rick Bright warned on Thursday that the U.S. lacks a plan to produce and fairly distribute a new coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available.
Bright alleges he was ousted from a high-level scientific post with the Department of Health and Human Services after warning the Trump administration to prepare for the pandemic.
– Whistleblower Rick Bright warned on Thursday that the U.S. lacks a plan to produce and fairly distribute a coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available.
The nation could face “the darkest winter in modern history” unless leaders act decisively, he told a congressional panel.
Bright alleges he was ousted from a high-level scientific post after warning the Trump administration to prepare for the pandemic.
“We don’t have (a vaccine plan) yet, and it is a significant concern,” Bright said. Asked if lawmakers should be worried, he responded, “Absolutely.”
Bright, a vaccine expert who led a biodefense agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, said the country needs a plan to establish a supply chain for producing tens of millions of doses of a vaccine and then allocating and distributing them fairly. He said experience so far with an antiviral drug that has been found to benefit COVID-19 patients has not given him much confidence about distribution. Hospital pharmacies have reported problems getting limited supplies.
The White House has begun what it calls “Operation Warp Speed” to quickly produce, distribute and administer a vaccine once it becomes available.
Appearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Bright said one of his lowest moments came when his repeated efforts to jump-start U.S. production of respirator masks went nowhere.
Bright recalled getting emails in late January from Mike Bowen, an executive at a medical supply company called Prestige Ameritech, indicating that its N95 mask supply was “completely decimated.”
“And he said, ‘We’re in deep ----. The world is. And we need to act,’ ” Bright said. “And I pushed that forward to the highest levels I could in HHS and got no response. From that moment I knew that we were going to have a crisis for our health care workers because we were not taking action. We were already behind the ball.”
A federal watchdog agency has found “reasonable grounds” that Bright was removed from his post as head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and DeWASHINGTON velopment Authority after sounding the alarm at the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Our window of opportunity is closing,” Bright said in his prepared testimony. “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.”
President Donald Trump on Thursday dismissed Bright in a tweet as “a disgruntled employee, not liked or respected by people I spoke to and who, with his attitude, should no longer be working for our government!” It’s a sentiment some of the president’s political allies have expressed about Dr. Anthony Fauci as well.