WATCH: Rick Bright says it’s important COVID-19 tests, supplies 'available to everyone'

Vaccine expert Rick Bright told House lawmakers in a May 14 hearing that supply shortages will “increase the risk” that communities of lower socioeconomic status will be negatively impacted by the novel coronavirus outbreak. He said the data shows that these communities have been hit “very hard” by the virus, and said that it’s important that when diagnostics tests for COVID-19 become available, “they are available to everyone.” Bright said he had some conversations with administration officials about reaching groups that have been disproportionately affected by the virus, but was not sure there was a “solidified plan” to do so. He stressed that there is “limited time” to put in place a coordinated national response to the virus, including a plan for the equitable distribution of supplies to communities across the country.

The former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, 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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