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One of the federal government’s top vaccine officials resigned from his role at the National Institutes of Health on Tuesday after accusing his superiors of politically motivated retaliation in response to his criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rick Bright, who formerly directed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, was removed from his post in April and reassigned to a narrower role at NIH, where, he said in a whistleblower complaint, his work was “thwarted by political considerations that continue to harm public health and safety.” The complaint accuses Department of Health and Human Services leaders of giving Bright a less prestigious job because he pushed back against President Trump’s lofty claims about hydroxychloroquine’s potential as a covid-19 treatment. Continue reading.