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Although not allowed at National Institutes of Health to utilize Rick Bright expertise in vaccines or therapeutics, Rick Bright developed a plan to implement a robust national testing infrastructure, which emphasized the critical need to provide screening tests for asymptomatic individuals and to provide services to underserved populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, national Institutes of Health leadership declined to support Dr. Bright's recommendations because of political considerations, plain and simple. After having Rick Bright work suppressed for political reasons to the detriment of public health and safety, Rick Bright was sidelined from doing any further work to combat this deadly virus.