On Friday, Johns Hopkins University pancreatic surgeon Dr. Marty Makary, who has made contentious statements regarding COVID, was named by President-elect Donald Trump to be the Food and Drug Administration’s commissioner.
According to the university’s website, Makary is the head of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, a division of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, he also held a leadership position at the World Health Organization Patient Safety Program. In addition, he frequently appears on Fox News and has been a prominent adviser to the conservative health care think group Paragon Health Institute.
“Americans no longer trust the FDA, and the agency has forgotten its main regulatory objective. Trump stated on Truth Social that the Agency needs Dr. Marty Makary, a highly regarded Johns Hopkins surgical oncologist and health policy expert, to reorient and change the Agency’s direction.
“He will work under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to, among other things, properly evaluate harmful chemicals poisoning our Nation’s food supply and drugs and biologics being given to our Nation’s youth, so that we can finally address the Childhood Chronic Disease Epidemic,” Trump stated.
The Senate must confirm the position.In his capacity as FDA commissioner, Makary would be in charge of policing and monitoring pharmaceuticals, foods, medical equipment, and other goods including tobacco and cosmetics.
Makary has already made a number of contentious remarks, mostly regarding the epidemic. According to him, the biggest source of false information throughout the pandemic was the federal government.
Ignoring the risk of infections, he supported natural immunity, claiming it was “at least” as effective as or even better than immunity offered by vaccinations. Additionally, he said that by April 2021, the country would achieve herd immunity.
Several investigations have refuted his claim that myocarditis, a rare cardiac ailment, is more likely following a Covid vaccination than following a Covid infection.
He also criticized the Biden administration’s choice to suggest the Covid boosters for younger, lower-risk patients in a 2023 Wall Street Journal opinion piece. The medical world is increasingly coming to the conclusion that young, healthy individuals do not require extra Covid vaccinations.
Makary might serve under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services, if he is nominated and confirmed. HHS has jurisdiction over 13 agencies, including the FDA.
Kennedy’s extreme public health beliefs, notably his anti-vaccine campaigning, drew harsh criticism from the scientific and medical community.
Makary defended Kennedy during an appearance on Fox News on Sunday, arguing that he is the least frightening development in the American healthcare system and that people shouldn’t analyze his remarks from thirty years ago.
According to Makary, he wishes to combat corruption in our government’s health authorities as well as in the medical field. Many people find that message offensive, and many feel threatened by it.
Given his prior remarks regarding COVID and his support for Kennedy, Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, stated that Makary is unable to serve as FDA commissioner.
According to Offit, “He’s willing to lie to the American public,” “Why do we think this someone who should head the FDA?”
Dr. Robert Califf, a cardiologist who served as FDA commissioner during the second term of President Barack Obama, is the current commissioner.
During his first term, Trump appointed oncologist Dr. Stephen Hahn and physician Dr. Scott Gottlieb as FDA commissioners.
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