The Department of Health and Human Services is conducting a review into the social media accounts of a top coronavirus researcher after she was accused of sharing controversial tweets about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Kizzmekia Corbett, an NIH immunologist working with the government to develop a vaccine for the contagious virus, suggested in a recent post that the pandemic could be a 'genocide' against black people.

In a separate tweet, she implied that doctors would overlook black Americans if ventilators are in short supply, which could cause them to die.

An HHS official told Fox News that 'career ethics officials are reviewing the matter' and taking the situation 'very seriously'.

Unprofessional social media posts about government work can violate federal guidelines.

Dr Kizzmekia Corbett, an NIH immunologist working with the government to develop a vaccine for the contagious virus, suggested in a post penned last week that the coronavirus pandemic could be a 'genocide' against black people

The Department of Health and Human Services is conducting a review into the social media accounts of a top coronavirus researcher after she was accused of writing controversial tweets about the COVID-19 pandemic -including this one shared last week

After her Twitter posts were publicized on Fox News Friday night, Dr Corbett switched her account to private.

However, screengrabs show she has posted several other divisive comments on her Twitter page stretching back to February.

After the White House Coronavirus Task Force was unveiled on February 29, Dr Corbett appeared contemptuous of the assembled team, writing that it was 'largely people (white men) Trump appointed to their positions as directors of blah blah institute'.

She theorized that they were 'indebted to serve Trump, NOT the people'.

When she received pushback on her post, the immunologist insisted she wasn't dismissing white men, but rather the 'system that they curated'.

After the White House Coronavirus Task Force was unveiled on February 29, Dr Corbett appeared contemptuous of the assembled team, which includes Dr Anthony Fauci (far left) and Dr Deborah Birx (second from right)

Dr Corbett theorized that the Task Force were 'indebted to serve Trump, NOT the people'

Dr Corbett's Twitter page is now private after her account was publicized by Fox News

Dr Corbett, who is only 34 years old, has been described as a 'superstar scientist'

Meanwhile, when Surgeon General Jerome Adams last month pleaded with the African American population to avoid cigarettes and alcohol, Dr Corbett wrote: 'Black ppl are not dying more because of their behaviors that is just a cop out to adjust accountability'.

Dr Corbett, who is only 34 years old, has been described as a 'superstar scientist'.

She has appeared on CNN and was recently praised by California Senator Kamala Harris for 'leading the charge' in developing a coronavirus vaccine.

'The world owes you and your team a debt of gratitude,' Harris cooed.

Dr Corbett has appeared on CNN and was recently praised by California Senator Kamala Harris for 'leading the charge' in developing a coronavirus vaccine.

Kamala Harris cooed over the top immunologist in a recent Twitter post

Despite controversy around some of Dr Corbett's tweets, disturbing data out of New York reveals that black people are twice as likely to die from coronavirus than white people.

Grim figures released Friday by the city's Health Department show the devastating impact the pandemic is wreaking on New York's African American communities, where residents are dying from the virus more than any other racial group.

Fears have been mounting for black communities all across the US as state officials and lawmakers warn the outbreak is hitting African Americans hardest, highlighting the systemic racial inequality that continues to exist.

The CDC has been urged to be more transparent about the virus' toll on communities of color, while Oprah Winfrey made an impassioned plea to black people to take the outbreak seriously because it is 'taking us out'.

In the virus epicenter New York, 1,999 black people have been killed by coronavirus across the five boroughs as of April 16, according to the NYC Health Department data.

This means their deaths make up a third (33.2 percent) of the city's total death toll, despite accounting for just 22 percent of the city's population.

White people make up the next highest number of deaths (1,861) and 30.9 percent of the city's death toll - however white people account for at least 43 percent of all residents.

As of Saturday afternoon, more than 700,000 Americans have tested positive for COVID-19. More than 37,300 have died.

Grim figures released Friday by the city's Health Department show the devastating impact the pandemic is wreaking on New York's African American communities