The director of Operation Warp Speed, dr. Moncef Slaoui, said on Wednesday that he had submitted his resignation at the request of Pres. Joe Biden.
Operation Warp Speed, first announced in May, is the Trump administration’s plan to coordinate with federal and private entities to rapidly develop and distribute safe COVID-19 vaccines to all Americans.
“As you know, I support this coming government and, of course, the operation and its mission,” Slaoui told CNBC on Tuesday. “And I will do everything in my power to help them succeed. As part of the process, which I understand, they asked me to resign from my role as … chief scientific adviser.”
He added that he would “support the leadership that will” establish “the Biden administration and that he and the incoming government have” found a contractual arrangement “that will allow him to step down from January 21.
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‘As I said, in early December, before any vaccines were approved, that once two vaccines were approved and two medicines were approved … it would probably be time to move on and go back to my private life and private matters, ”Slaoui said
The doctor went on to say that he had extended his term “to support the new team as they enter.”
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Slaoui said he submitted his resignation to the Trump administration on Tuesday, thanking them for “the opportunity to help our country and our people, as well as the people of the world,” he said.
Dr Moncef Slaoui, Chief Adviser of Operation Warp Speed, speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House on Friday, November 13, 2020 in Washington. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)
The administration hires Slaoui as a contractor rather than a private employee. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized him, according to NPR, for his financial ties to GlaxoSmithKline and Moderna.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told NPR that the doctor had resigned from his management at Moderna and sold his shares in the company, but that he would not give up his stock in GlaxoSmithKline because it is his pension savings.
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The spokesman added that Slaoui “is invaluable to the decisions of the Board, but he does not commit the government to any financial obligations. Operation Warp Speed’s investment decisions are recommended and approved by Operation Warp Speed Board or Directors (BoD)) weekly. “
In an email to NPR, Slaoui said he “accepted this role out of a commitment to public health and to help our country and the world control this deadly pandemic.”
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“Throughout my career, I have always maintained myself to the highest ethical standards, and this has not changed after my acceptance of this role. HHS career ethics officers have determined that my contractor status, dismissals and resignations are in line with the department’s strong ethical standards , ‘he said.