Martin Makary, President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the US FDA, on Thursday promised to convene the agency’s vaccine advisory committee, but did not commit to rescheduling a cancelled meeting to discuss the composition of the next seasonal flu vaccine.
Makary, appearing in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions Committee for his confirmation hearing, said he was not involved in last week’s decision to cancel the flu vaccine meeting, but committed to receiving regular outside views if confirmed.
He is set to take over a Food and Drug Administration already embroiled in controversy over the mass firing of federal employees and a widening measles outbreak in Texas.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who would be Makary’s boss, has a decades-long history of questioning the safety of vaccines.
Kennedy’s response to the measles outbreak, which lacked a strong recommendation to get vaccinated, has been questioned by public health experts.
Makary during the COVID-19 pandemic had raised concerns about a number of public health efforts, touting the protection received from natural immunity and opposing vaccine mandates for the general public stances that put him at odds with many public health experts.
Although Makary has staked out contrarian positions on other topics in the past, those familiar with his work say he believes in the benefit of vaccination.
“I would in no way consider him to be an anti-vaxxer,” said Dr. Cody Meissner, professor of paediatrics at Dartmouth, who has corresponded with Makary and co-wrote an editorial with him against masks for children during the COVID pandemic.
Makary was careful not to commit one way or the other on several controversial issues when asked, saying repeatedly he was not involved in decisions taken under Trump or Kennedy’s watch. Still, he had effusive praise for both of them on multiple occasions.
Asked about the abortion pill mifepristone, widely used in medical abortions but under assault by Republican-controlled states, Makary pledged to take a solid, hard look at data the FDA collects through its risk mitigation program on the drug that was approved nearly 25 years ago.
Makary, a physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, would report to Kennedy as the FDA is one of several high-profile agencies under the purview of the Health and Human Services secretary.
Kennedy said during his own confirmation hearings that he wanted an FDA review of mifepristone data, which is sold in pharmacies and by mail. Its use has increased since the US Supreme Court ruling that overturned the landmark Roe v Wade case that legalised abortion nationwide.
Makary may also face pressure to further reduce head count at the FDA after hundreds of jobs were already cut last month as part of the effort to slash the size of the federal government by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. Many of those cuts were quickly rescinded and the agency is now offering early retirement.
Asked repeatedly about firings at the FDA, Makary said he wasn’t involved in those decisions and would review all the recent job cuts.
“I welcome input on efficiencies at the agency,” he said. “At the same time, I want to make sure that the scientists and food inspectors and staff central to the core mission of the agency have all the resources they need to do their job well.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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