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Dr. Rick Bright, an ousted vaccine expert from BARDA, testified before Congress Thursday morning. Here’s what you need to know:

‘Americans deserve the truth’

During his testimony, Bright tells Congress, “Americans deserve the truth. The truth must be based on science. We have the world’s greatest scientists let us lead. Let us speak without fear of retribution.


2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history

Bright: “Without better planning, 2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history.

18 months away from a vaccine

Rick Bright, a top vaccine expert, shares that he thinks the US is as much as 18 months away from a coronavirus vaccine.


Bright on why he was removed from his position 


Lack of vaccine plan is a “significant concern”

Dr. Rick Bright told the House Committee that the lack of a plan and strategy on how to administer a potential vaccine is a “significant concern”

There’s no one company that can produce enough for our country or for the world.... We need to have a strategy and plan in place now to make sure that we can can not only fill that vaccine, make it, distribute it, administer it in a fair and equitable plan... We don’t have that yet and it is a significant concern.”

Bright says Trump administration knew about PPE shortages 

Whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright shares that the Trump administration knew in January there would be shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other vital equipment. He says he tried to warn the administration but they didn’t act.


“We’re in deep s**t”

Dr. Bright shares that he won’t forget when a N95 mask supplier told him “We’re in deep s**t. The world is. And, we need to act.” Bright said, “I pushed that forward to the highest levels I could in HHS and got no responses. From that moment I knew we were going to have a crisis.


“There were some attempts to bypass” vetting process for hydroxychloroquine

Rick Bright said that the Trump administration rushed to recommend the drug, hydroxychloroquine, to treat COVID-19.
There were some attempts to bypass that rigorous vetting process that causes me great concern.”

He added: “We have a very rigorous scientific review process for all the investments that we make for the drugs, vaccines and diagnostics through BARDA and through our department.”

Bright continued “without that scientific vetting, that does increase the risk of a drug being evaluated or supported, that could have safety concerns. And we really needed to have the best scientists in our country weigh in on whether or not that drug should be evaluated and how it should be evaluated to address those safety concerns.”

“Lives would’ve been saved if we had proper medical protective equipment”

When asked by Mrs. Dingell, Rick Bright said that lives could’ve been saved if “we had proper medical protective equipment for our healthcare workers.”


He also said that not everyone who wants a test can get a test.



It’ll be "catastrophic" if American’s don’t have access to a vaccine due to a supply shortage 


Bright: "We did not forewarn people"

Bright shared that the American people were not warned about the virus earlier enough.
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