A top U.S. vaccine scientist told Congress Thursday he was removed from his job at the Department of Health and Human Services after he pushed back against President Donald Trump’s endorsement of untested and potentially dangerous treatments for COVID-19. Rick Bright, who filed a whistleblower complaint earlier this month, told the House Committee on Energy and Commerce he became “alarmed” at a lack of planning by federal agencies after the coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, late last year. He said his urgent pleas in January for the U.S. to procure masks and other personal protective equipment went ignored. Bright said the resulting shortages and reliance on lower-quality masks cost the lives of healthcare workers. And he warned the United States remains woefully unprepared for another wave of COVID-19 infections and deaths.

Rick Bright: “Our window of opportunity is closing. If we fail to improve our response now, based on science, I fear the pandemic will get worse and be prolonged. There will be likely a resurgence of COVID-19 this fall. It will be greatly compounded by the challenges of seasonal influenza. Without better planning, 2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history.”