This archive report was first published on 14 May 2020.
May 14, 2020, marked a dire warning from a former US health official, Dr. Rick Bright, who was ousted from his senior role at the Department of Health and Human Services for raising concerns over N95 protective mask shortages.
Speaking before a House of Representatives subcommittee, Dr. Bright expressed his concerns over the Trump administration's rosy timeline for the vaccine's development, stating that 'there is a lot of optimism. There is a lot of hope. But that does not make a vaccine. There's a lot of work that needs to be done.'
He questioned the feasibility of vaccinating the US population in the next few months, describing it as 'very unlikely.'
Dr. Bright's warning comes as US President Donald Trump pushes states to reopen as rapidly as possible in the middle of the worst US economic downturn since the Great Depression that began in 1929.
The Labor Department reported nearly 3 million more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, raising the number of jobless claims to 36.5 million in the past eight weeks.
US President Donald Trump expects to have a vaccine available by the end of the year, despite Dr. Bright's dire warning.
