“The first time we had an excuse. The rest of the deaths could have been reduced considerably "

Death threats, emergency denial, "awkward" conversations, conspiracy theories, and hundreds of thousands of deaths that may have been prevented.

Six former health officials during the Donald Trump Administration recounted in a documentary broadcast this Sunday by CNN how they experienced (and suffered) the management of the coronavirus in the worst months of the pandemic, when the first waves shook the country, paralyzed the economy and uncertainty reigned.

Perhaps in response to the serious accusations made in these interviews, the Government of Joe Biden has informed this Monday in a letter to the leaders of all federal agencies about the formation of a working group to identify and investigate the management and the alleged interference Policies of the former president on the Government's scientific team during the pandemic.

Trump played down the pandemic for months, and has even admitted that he did so knowing the true severity of the disease, that is, lying when millions of lives were at stake.

He often spoke disparagingly or baselessly on the recommendations of scientists, even those in the service of the White House, disparaging the use of masks or assuring that the crisis would end when the heat arrived in summer.

By September 19, more than 200,000 people had died.

Just over two weeks later, Trump announced his positive in October and ended up being admitted to a military hospital where he recovered, but without doctors reporting the real seriousness of his situation. 

The country already exceeds 550,000 deaths from coronavirus, according to the NBC News network.

[One dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines is 80% effective but experts insist on the need to use two]

"We know that there were blatant attempts to distort, select and ignore science - we saw it across multiple agencies," said Jane Lubchenco, deputy director of Climate and Environment in the White House office of science.

Alondra Nelson, deputy director of the White House Office of Science, explained that government investigators will review "Trump-era policies that put politics first," but even if the investigation reveals cases of manipulation, it will be difficult for anyone to be held accountable. 

"The goal will not be to look back. It will be to try to implement practices and policies that prevent anything that can be discovered from happening again," Nelson said.

An "awkward" call

Deborah Birx, former coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force during the Trump Administration, described an "awkward" call with the former president after an August interview with CNN in which she discussed the true threat posed by the pandemic.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump with Deborah Birx, former White House coronavirus response coordinator, at a press conference in Washington, DC, on April 18, 2020 Sarah Silbiger / Getty Images

"It was a very difficult moment, because everyone in the White House was angry about that interview, because of the clarity with which I spoke about the epidemic. The president called me. It was very uncomfortable, very direct and very difficult to hear." Birx said in the documentary Covid War: The pandemic doctors speak out. "The first time, we had an excuse: there were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original outbreak," he explained, "the rest of them, in my opinion, could have been mitigated or significantly lowered. "

[Social networks punish Nicolás Maduro after promoting false "miracle drops" against COVID-19]

Birx claimed that all of the doctors who were part of Trump's coronavirus task force received death threats.

"My daughters got the same rude text messages. You can't even imagine what those text messages were like: 'The country would be better off if you were dead.' 'You're cheating the country.' 'You should cut out your tongue."

Birx left the government's COVID-19 team when Biden came to power in January, and does not share the fame that another key figure in the federal response to the pandemic has achieved, epidemiologist Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Diseases. Infectious

Fauci also spoke about the bullying and harassment he and his family faced, prompting him to reinforce his security team.

[Most people in the United States approve of Biden's management in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey]

Fauci explained that he knew the danger that was coming when he saw what was happening in New York, one of the most affected cities in the country.

"When he saw our health care system almost collapse, he was like, 'Oh my God.'

"That's when it became very clear that the decision we made on January 10 - to do everything possible and develop a vaccine - may have been the best decision I have ever made," he added.

Attacks on the former Secretary of Health

Robert Redfield, former chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told CNN that what "most offended him were the calls" from the office of Alex Azar, former Secretary of Health and Services. Humans, "who wanted me to push and change the MMWR [Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on COVID-19]." He may deny that, but it's true, "he noted.

"His lawyer and his chief of staff called me and pressured me to the point of accusing me that not making that change would cost thousands of lives," he continued, "I finally had a moment where I said, 'Enough is enough.' Say goodbye, fire me. I'm not changing the MMWR. "

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn Opinion on Azar's Alleged Blockade of the FDA's Ability to Regulate Laboratory Tests: "There was that kind of pressure It was a red line for me, "he said.

"If someone tries to ask me to do something that I don't think is right and my patient, the American people, needs something different," he added.

With information from CNN, NBC News, Axios and The New York Times.