Dr Deborah Birx, a former Covid adviser under President Donald Trump, will make a smooth transition to a new job as CEO of a pharmaceutical company.
The former White House coronavirus response coordinator until she was replaced by President Joe Biden, Dr. Birx will now lead a company known as Armata Pharmaceuticals.
“Deborah L. Birx, MD, was named Chief Executive Officer of Armata on July 10, 2023,” the company announced. “Prior to joining Armata, Dr. Birx was a member of Innoviva’s Board of Directors from March 2021 to July 2023.”
“Dr. Birx is a world-renowned medical expert and leader who most recently served as the response coordinator for the White House’s coronavirus task force,” the statement noted. “She previously served as ambassador-at-large, when she assumed the role of coordinator of U.S. government activities to combat HIV/AIDS and as U.S. special representative for global health diplomacy. Dr. Birx also served as the US Global AIDS Coordinator, where she oversaw the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at the CDC and as the Director of the US Military HIV Research Program (USMHRP) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.”
According to Armata, its pharmaceutical research aims to “address areas of significant unmet clinical need by targeting key antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including those on the World Health Organization’s list of global priority pathogens.” The biotech company is “developing and advancing a broad portfolio of natural and synthetic phage candidates, including clinical candidates for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and other pathogens. Proprietary synthetic phage candidates designed to target an undisclosed infectious disease agent are being developed in collaboration with Merck,” the company added.
Dr Birx sparked controversy as co-ordinator of the Covid pandemic for allegedly not being strong enough against Donald Trump’s policies. Birx drew criticism from public health experts and Democratic lawmakers “for not speaking out strongly against the Republican president when he contradicted the advice of medical advisers and scientists on how to fight the virus,” the AP reported.
Dr. Birx also appears to have misled Americans about the ability of Covid vaccines to prevent infection and transmission by not speaking out to set the record straight during the pandemic.
“I knew these vaccines weren’t going to protect against infection,” Dr. Birx said on Fox News in July 2022. “And I think we overhyped the vaccines and made people worry that they won’t protect against serious illness and hospitalization. Go to. But let’s be very clear: 50% of the people who died from the Omicron wave were older, vaccinated. That’s why I say even if you’re vaccinated and boosted, if now even if you’re not vaccinated, the key is to get tested and Paxlovid. It’s effective. It’s a great antiviral. And really, that’s what’s going to save your life right now if you’re over 70, that if you look at hospitalizations, hospitalizations are constantly increasing with new arrivals, especially over 70. And so if you live in the South, I know people keep talking about the fall, I’m worried about the South.”
In other words, Dr. Birx will fit in perfectly now as an official pharmaceutical vendor.
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