In the midst of a crisis, the Trump administration transfers the leader of the health department’s vaccine program.
The abrupt ouster of a top vaccine expert at HHS has split officials who see it as either a boon for the nation’s Covid-19 response or the latest indication of a dysfunctional health department.
Bright told The New York Times on Wednesday that he believed his removal was because of his internal opposition to pursuing investments in malaria drugs as potential treatments for Covid-19, which President Donald Trump has touted without scientific evidence. One official with knowledge of HHS' recent acquisition of tens of millions of doses of those drugs said that Bright had supported those acquisitions in internal communications.
HHS on Wednesday did not respond to questions about Bright’s leadership of BARDA or whether he had accepted his new role, referring instead to an earlier statement. But the Trump administration’s leadership team long faulted Bright for an array of management problems, including complaints about BARDA’s pace and strategy, concerns echoed by outside observers.
Two of Bright’s supporters said that BARDA was perceived to be slow because Bright — a career scientist — insisted on reviews of ideas that raised scientific concern, like the Trump administration's recent focus on hydroxychloroquine. That drug, a malaria treatment, has been widely touted as a therapy for Covid-19 despite scant evidence that it’s been helpful, but HHS officials were told last month to prioritize it.
Other current and former health officials — including a prominent Trump appointee, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb — praised Bright’s work as the organization’s leader.
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