WASHINGTON, Aug.11 (Xinhua) – A former U.S. federal health official spoke on Wednesday to criticize the previous U.S. administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying thousands of lives could have been saved if Washington had acted differently from the start.
He claimed he was fired for opposing pressure from former President Donald Trump for some treatment for COVID-19.
“Hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States and around the world would have been saved, people would still be alive today if our government had listened to the science, had been honest and sincere with Americans from the start, their explained the real risk of this virus and made available tools as well as clear information and messages to help people save their lives and protect themselves against this virus, “said Rick Bright, former director of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) under the Trump administration.
BARDA is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), one of the agencies at the center of the federal government’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
“If we had launched testing, a really robust nationwide testing strategy to tell people where the virus was and who was infected, if we had done more to prepare for the roll-out of vaccine delivery when that – it has become available, “continued Mr. Bright, now president of the Rockefeller Foundation.
Mr. Bright, a virologist who headed BARDA between 2016 and 2020, made the remarks during an interview with the American news channel CNN.
After his dismissal last April, Mr. Bright filed a whistleblower complaint claiming he was ousted because he insisted that hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug adopted by Mr. Trump as a treatment for new coronavirus, is the subject of a rigorous examination, and that the administration had put “politics and cronyism before science”.
He and the HHS ended up withdrawing their lawsuit in exchange for a financial deal that compensated him for losses, including salary, benefits and retirement contributions after his abrupt dismissal, said Monday. his lawyer.
The administration of current President Joe Biden has also confirmed this solution, thanking Mr Bright in a statement released by the HHS “for his dedicated public service and for the contributions he has made to the fight against the COVID pandemic. -19 when he was director of BARDA “.
Although the HHS under Trump has denied any wrongdoing, the allegations in Mr Bright’s complaint are currently under investigation by the Office of the Special Advisor, which protects federal whistleblowers. End
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