Dr. Scott Gottlieb practised internal medicine, and is a venture capitalist with “longstanding ties to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.”  He worked at the FDA for three years under George W. Bush, and was FDA commissioner for less than two years under Donald Trump.

Gottlieb resigned from his position as FDA commissioner in April 2019, and two months later joined Pfizer’s board of directors in a move Senator Elizabeth Warren said “smacks of corruption.”

Despite having no qualifications to do so, Gottlieb has repeatedly offered televised predictions on potential COVID outbreaks, peaks, and plateaus in the U.S. – predictions which were often inaccurate. 

By Chelli Stanley

While making these predictions, Gottlieb was frequently introduced as the “former FDA commissioner” rather than the “current Pfizer executive,” obscuring his current role and financial interests in the pandemic as an executive and shareholder at Pfizer. 

In March 2020, Gottleib warned, “The unfolding crisis in coronavirus-stricken New York City could be replicated in at least a half-dozen other U.S. metro areas as the outbreak intensifies in the coming weeks.”

In April 2020, he stated, “I don’t think there’s going to be a binary point in time when we just return to what we were doing. I think world history is permanently altered by this episode.”

In May 2020, Gottlieb said the first country to produce a vaccine “will be first to restore its economy and global influence.”

In July 2020, he said, “I think in the South you’re likely to see an extended plateau. The New York experience mirrored Italy. I think the Southern experience is more likely to mirror Brazil, where you’re likely to see more of an extended plateau once we reach that apex, and you could reach the apex in the next two or three weeks.”  

In November 2020, Gottlieb predicted, “Things are getting worse around the country.  December is probably going to be our toughest month.”

In December 2020, he said “They’re not going to see peak-burden on hospital resources probably until mid-January, late January.”

In March 2021, Gottlieb said, “I don’t think you’re going to see a fourth surge.”

In April 2021, Gottlieb predicted, “I think you’re going to start to see cases come down quite dramatically as we get into May.”

In July 2021, Gottlieb said that the spike in infections due to the delta variant “may be over sooner than many experts believe,” stating, “there’s going to be a peak sometime probably around late August, early September.”

In August 2021, Gottlieb predicted, “the delta wave is going to sweep across the country in a regionalized fashion.” 

In September 2021, Gottlieb said, “I think our true delta wave is going to start to build after Labor Day here in the Northeast and the northern part of the country.” 

In October 2021, Gottlieb declared the pandemic phase will be over “once vaccines become available for children and Merck’s antiviral pill is cleared by regulators.”  He also changed his predictions, saying the delta variant “is likely to conclude around Thanksgiving.”

Gottlieb said he expects Pfizer’s COVID vaccine “eventually to be required as part of the childhood immunization schedule.”

While FDA commissioner, Gottlieb said, in a statement eerily reminiscent of current extraordinary federal bullying, “if states don’t require more schoolchildren to get vaccinated, the federal government might have to step in.”

Gottlieb Appears to Have Violated Federal Ethics Rules

Gottlieb’s last day at FDA was April 5, 2019.

“Federal ethics rules permit former senior officials, such as Dr. Gottlieb, to join corporate boards, but there is a one-year cooling off period before they are allowed to lobby or otherwise represent any third party before the agency, which in this case includes not only the F.D.A. but the Health and Human Services Department.”

While Gottlieb did not say the name ‘Pfizer,’ he repeatedly pushed Pfizer’s COVID vaccine interests before the required one year period was over. 

A March 15, 2020 article by Politico quoted a government official criticizing Gottlieb’s peculiar over-involvement in the COVID response: “I don’t know what his endgame is. What’s he trying to prove, and why does he keep stepping on Hahn?”  Stephen Hahn was the current FDA commissioner.

Pfizer announced it would begin developing a COVID-19 vaccine on March 17, 2020.

TIME reported Gottlieb “started making calls to government officials on January 18.”

In early March, Gottlieb visited President Trump.  “Dr. Gottlieb’s role was to impress upon the president how serious the crisis could become.”

Politico reported “Gottlieb was seen at the White House ahead of Trump’s emergency declaration on the coronavirus pandemic” which took place on March 13, 2020.  Politico also reported Gottlieb “has maintained a line to the Trump administration throughout the crisis, offering private advice to senior officials.”

Gottlieb repeatedly called for shutting down the economy before local, state, or the federal government were seriously considering it.  On March 12, 2020, Gottlieb said “No state and no city wants to be the first to basically shut down their economy. But that’s what’s going to need to happen. States and cities are going to have to act in the interest of the national interest right now to prevent a broader epidemic. Close businesses, close large gatherings, close theaters, cancel events.”

When asked by a CBS reporter if he was “telling the White House to do these things,” Gottlieb said, “I’m still having discussions with people in the administration.” 

On March 24, 2020, Gottlieb said, “There is no on-off switch. This is going to be a gradual transition. Certain aspects of life are never going be the same until we get a vaccine, and maybe after we get a vaccine.  This has changed American life and it’s changed the globe. It’s a historic event.”

On March 29, 2020, Gottlieb said the White House should not loosen restrictions.

Also on March 29^th, Gottlieb published a ‘road map’ to reopening.  He wrote “in each phase, we outline the steps that the federal government, working with the states and public-health and health care partners, should take to inform the response.” 

Gottlieb’s road map had three phases and stipulated, “Once a vaccine has been developed, has been tested for safety and efficacy, and receives FDA emergency use authorization, states can move to Phase III.”

Gottlieb’s road map also stated, “The CDC, state public-health agencies, and vaccine developers should work together to plan for and execute mass vaccination of large populations in the U.S.” “Indemnification of vaccine developers and manufacturers should also be considered.”

Gottlieb’s road map even advised the U.S. establish a National Infectious Disease Forecasting Center, saying, “this permanent federal institution would function similarly to the National Weather Service.”

On March 30, 2020, Gottlieb told CNBC, “the C.D.C. should put out designs for cloth masks for the public” to prevent asymptomatic infection.  At that time, CDC guidelines stated that people should only wear masks if they were sick or caring for someone who was sick. 

On March 31^st, CNN reported that Trump read Gottlieb’s road map and was considering advising everyone to wear masks.  “‘I saw his suggestion on that. We will take a look at it,’ the President said during his daily news briefing.”

On April 3, 2020, President Trump said the CDC “now recommends that people wear cloth or fabric face coverings, which can be made at home.”

During the same press conference in late March, a reporter asked Trump: “the road map also talks about doing GPS for social distancing, maybe following people’s phones, are those ideas that you’re looking at?”

Trump replied that GPS was a “very severe idea” but said Gottlieb is “somebody who was with me for a long time. …did a great job at FDA. So, we’re going to take a look. I just received it a little while ago, he sent it over.”

Within three weeks, Trump announced his own three-phase road map, and ABC News reported Gottlieb “has maintained a line of communication to the White House in offering his counsel through the crisis.”

On April 1, 2020, Gottlieb told CNBC: “I think the real wild card here is what populist states like Texas and Florida do.  …If they don’t get more aggressive we could be on the cusp of some bad outcomes.  I don’t understand why those governors have not acted more forcefully.”  CNBC reported “about four hours after this story was published, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a new statewide order for people to stay at home.”

April 5, 2020 was the end of the one year period during which Scott Gottlieb was not allowed to lobby or otherwise represent any third party to prevent him from unethically using prestige or status to benefit a third party – like Pfizer.

Violating federal ethics rules can result in criminal penalties.