Coronavirus

HHS Vaccine Expert Rick Bright To File Whistleblower Complaint, Says He Was Ousted For Not Touting Trump-Backed Drug Chloroquine

Rick Bright, a federal vaccine scientist who was recently removed from his office by the Trump Administration, is ready to file a whistleblower complaint. 

His lawyers claimed that his ousting came after he refused to endorse unproven COVID-19 drug, chloroquine, touted by President Donald Trump.

Chloroquine is a drug used for malaria treatment. When Trump’s own health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci was asked if the drug could ever be used to treat COVID 19, he said that “the answer is no.”

Bright was removed this week as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a federal office under the Health and Human Services Department.

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.

“I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science — not politics or cronyism — has to lead the way,” Bright said in a statement.

Hours after Bright made his statement, HHS denied his claim.

“It was Dr. Bright who requested an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for donations of chloroquine that Bayer and Sandoz recently made to the Strategic National Stockpile for use on COVID-19 patients,” HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said.

In response, Bright’s lawyers claimed that “the administration is now making demonstrably false statements about Dr. Bright.”

“In our filing, we will make clear that Dr. Bright was sidelined for one reason only — because he resisted efforts to provide unfettered access to potentially dangerous drugs, including chloroquine, a drug promoted by the Administration as a panacea, but which is untested and possibly deadly when used improperly,” Bright’s lawyers said.

CORONAVIRUS FAQ: WIKI OF MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

Dongyoon Shin

Recent Posts

After Biden Commutes Sentences Of 1,500 People, GOP Critics Call It A Ploy To Deflect From Pardon Of Son Hunter

Last week, President Joe Biden announced that he would pardon 39 people and commute the prison sentences…

2 days ago

GOP Rep. Chip Roy Rants Against His Own Party For Backing Debt-Raising Bill, Trump Calls For A Primary Opponent Against Him

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) condemned his fellow Republican lawmakers during a rant on the House floor after…

2 days ago

VIDEO: Rep Mike Waltz Does 44 Pushups After Army’s 31-13 Loss Against Navy in Annual Football Match

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_kYWlyzuiMk Rep. Mike Waltz did 44 pushups to honor a bet after the Army football…

3 days ago

‘President’ Elon Musk Slammed By Democrats After He Tanks Bipartisan Spending Bill To Avert Shutdown

In a series of X posts on Wednesday, the platform's CEO Elon Musk criticized a bipartisan spending…

3 days ago

Biden Doubts His Legacy As He Hands Over Power To The Man He Called ‘A Threat To Democracy’

"You can't love your country only when you win." President Joe Biden has repeated this phrase to…

4 days ago

Top Democrat On House Ethics Committee, Rep. Susan Wild, Misses Meeting After Report On Matt Gaetz Leaks

Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pennsylvania), the top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, missed a committee meeting after…

5 days ago