Dr. Rick Bright, the former chief of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, who had become a whistleblower on the coronavirus, officially resigned on Tuesday from his position at the National Institute of Health.
Dr. Bright sounded the alarm about the White House’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic, their lack of preparedness and outright cronyism between Health and Human Services officials and the pharmaceutical industry.
In a statement, Dr. Bright’s attorney said, Bright resigned, “because he can no longer sit idly by and work for an administration that ignores scientific expertise” and because he was “sidelined.”
“Although not allowed at NIH to utilize his expertise in vaccines or therapeutics, Dr. Bright developed a plan to implement a robust national testing infrastructure, which emphasized the critical need to provide screening tests for asymptomatic individuals and to provide services to underserved populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” said Debra Katz and Lisa Banks.
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His full statement can be read below:
Dr. Rick Bright, the former BARDA head turned whistleblower, has resigned from his position at NIH.
His attorneys say right resigned "because he can no longer sit idly by and work for an administration that ignores scientific expertise" and because he was "sidelined." pic.twitter.com/SmPVyehuvu
— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) October 6, 2020
