Trump opines without thinking or vetting his comments. That’s undoubtedly what happened when he endorsed the use of chloroquin, hydroxychloroquin and azithromycin as wonder drugs for the covid-19 infection. His comments were based on a headlines generated by a small poorly documented study from France done by an unreliable researcher–a global warming by human activity denier no less.
Trump repeated his endorsement several times since and as is his style he has never admitted that he might be, or as appears to be the case from recent studies, wrong. The drugs don’t appear to work.
Thus is it sad to see a government scientist who expressed reservations about the use of chloroquin and hydroxychloroquin being fired.
As reported by Maggie Haggerman of the New York Times: “Dr. Rick Bright was abruptly dismissed this week as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, and as the deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response.”
In the article Dr. Bright stated:
“My professional background has prepared me for a moment like this — to confront and defeat a deadly virus that threatens Americans and people around the globe. To this point, I have led the government’s efforts to invest in the best science available to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.\
“Unfortunately, this resulted in clashes with H.H.S. political leadership, including criticism for my proactive efforts to invest early into vaccines and supplies critical to saving American lives. I also resisted efforts to fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections,”
Medicynical Note: People are dying and as he has done from the start, Trump is more interested in political posturing than sound science and optimal management of the problem.
Medicynic 