The chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s program investing billions of dollars into discovering a coronavirus vaccine, says media scrutiny of his stock ownership may delay a vaccine or make its discovery less likely because it is distracting him from his work.
Patients Over Pharma is one of the progressive groups that has questioned whether former pharmaceutical executives should oversee a project that will dispense billions of dollars to the industry.
Spokesman Eli Zupnick said Monday that everyone wants Slaoui to succeed but there’s no reason he can’t do that while adhering to transparency and ethics guidelines.
“Dr. Slaoui doesn’t seem to understand that what he perceives as attacks aren’t personal and they aren’t ‘fake news,’” said Zupnick. “They are about making sure that the public can trust that Operation Warp Speed is operating in the best interests of patients and public health and not engaging in the cronyism and corruption that is so pervasive through the Trump Administration.”
