The United States will suffer a shortage of vaccines for COVID-19 if measures are not taken immediately to increase its production capacity when one becomes available, Dr. Rick Bright, who was dismissed last month as the head of the body responsible for the development of a immunological remedy against coronavirus.
Bright has testified before a House committee to warn that the Executive lacks a plan to generate tens of millions of vaccines.
“There is no company that can produce enough doses for our country or for the world. There will be a limited number. We need to create a strategy right now to make sure not only that the vaccine can go forward, but also that it can be produced and distributed in a fair way, “he said.
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Bright was abruptly dismissed in April by the Donald Trump government and had to leave the leadership of the Advanced Biomedical Research and Development Authority, an entity that reports to the Department of Health and that, among other functions, oversees research into a vaccine for COVID-19.
The White House has launched an initiative, dubbed “devilish speed operation,” to produce, distribute and administer the vaccine once it becomes available, but Bright says that plan will not be effective and has cast doubt on the possibility that there will be a vaccine within 12-18 months.
“There is a lot of optimism about that 12 and 18-month deadline, but that will only happen if everything goes perfectly and we have never seen everything go perfectly. I am concerned that, by rushing and going too fast, some critical steps will be removed. And we may not know if that vaccine is completely safe, “he stressed.
Likewise, it considers that it will not be possible to return to the “normality” that preceded the virus and argues that it is necessary to maintain caution to avoid “an unlimited number of deaths”.
“Without a clear plan for planning and implementing the steps that other experts and I have defined, 2020 will be the darkest winter in history,” he said.
The figure of Bright has created a strong controversy in the United States, where the extreme right sees him as a traitor to Trump and the left considers him a hero.
Bright says he was fired for raising doubts about an antimalarial drug Trump was promoting as a remedy for coronavirus, but whose efficacy has not been proven.
Trump himself lashed out on Thursday against the scientist on Twitter: “I do not know the complainant Rick Bright, I never met him and I never heard of him, but for me he is a disgruntled employee, who did not like anyone and who, with his attitude, shows that you shouldn’t be working for our government! “
At the same time, the Health Department in a statement noted that “it strongly disagrees with the allegations and characterizations made” by the scientist before Congress.
The United States remains the world’s largest focus of the new coronavirus pandemic in absolute terms, with nearly 1.4 million cases and at least 84,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University count.
