President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration, FDA (Food and Drug Administration), redirected a question regarding vaccine processes to a leading Democratic Senator during the confirmation hearing on Thursday. He advised them to ask former president Joe Biden about why he missed a crucial step in the COVID-19 booster.
Dr. Marty Makary, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. He answered questions about vaccines, chronic illnesses, food safety, and abortion.
If you’re confirmed, are you willing to immediately reschedule the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee Meeting to hear from experts? Patty Murray (D-Wash.) asked Trump’s FDA nominee.
The question was asked about an FDA vaccine meeting that was reported to be delayed at the last moment.
Makary responded, noting that he wasn’t involved in the decision. “I will reevaluate the topics which deserve a meeting of members of [Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee] and those which might not need a meeting.”
When asked again by Murray, the FDA nominee, “Well, you can ask Biden administration who chose not convened the committee meeting for COVID booster vaccine.”
Biden’s administration was notable for pushing through FDA approval in 2021 for COVID-19 boosters for anyone over 18. In a release from the time, it was stated that “the FDA didn’t hold a meeting on these actions because the agency had previously convened this committee to discuss extensively the use of COVID-19 booster doses and after reviewing both Pfizer and Moderna’s EUA requests the FDA concluded that neither request raised questions which would have benefited by additional discussion.”
At that time, Dr. Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said, “We’re asked to approve this vaccine as a 3-dose for those 16 and older without clear evidence if a third dose is beneficial for a young person compared with an elder person.”
Fox News asked Murray if she shared the same concern about Biden’s choice. In a press release, the senator stated, “In 2020, I was confident that our agencies for public health were listening to experts in public health and following up on new science.” “I do not feel that way now.”
She continued, “We are talking about Trump and RFK Jr. dumping a meeting which has taken place every year, for 30 years or more, to recommend the influenza strains that should be used for flu vaccines during the upcoming season. There has been no explanation for this cancellation, nor any indication of when the next one will be scheduled. The flu vaccine is effective and safe. We need to convene this committee so that manufacturers can prepare the right vaccines.”
Murray, along with fellow HELP Democratic Senators, met on Thursday to prepare for the hearing. Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin and Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland wrote Makary a letter, saying, “We plan to use the nomination hearing on Thursday to determine whether or not you support this misinformed measure that will slow down critical decisions in public health.”
HELP Bill Cassidy (R-La.) also asked Makary about the meeting postponement, and said, “How do you plan to ensure that advisory panels remain transparent, objective, while still benefiting the expertise of outside experts?”
Cassidy was told by the nominee, “You’ve got my promise to look at what committees do [and] their use.”
Makary noted, “As I know, it was a critical decision when the committee wasn’t convened during the FDA guidance on COVID boosters.”
He remembered that FDA leaders “at that time argued they were advisory and we didn’t need to convene.” This was repeated throughout the Biden Administration.”
