WATCH: Whistleblower Rick Bright says lives were lost because U.S. was slow to boost virus supplies

Vaccine expert Rick Bright told lawmakers on May 14 that he was rebuffed by members of the Department of Health and Human Services after urging them in February to procure N95 masks to respond to the novel coronavirus pandemic. “They informed me that they did not believe there was a critical urgency to procure masks,” Bright said. When he indicated that there would be a critical shortage of supplies, he said department officials did not act to procure more masks, but instead told him they would change the CDC guidelines to dissuade non-essential workers from wearing the masks should that happen. “My response was ‘I cannot believe you can sit and say that with a straight face,’” Bright said. He added that he believed lives were endangered and lost due to the administration’s delay in procuring critical supplies such as N95 masks to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

Bright testified on Thursday before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s health subcommittee in a hearing dedicated to “protecting scientific integrity” of the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. In a whistleblower complaint filed last week, Bright said he was reassigned to a different position in late April for pushing back against the Trump administration’s virus response strategy.

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