RFK Jr.'s FDA officials overrode career staff to limit COVID shots
CBSN
Top-ranking Food and Drug Administration officials picked by the Trump administration under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. overrode career staff at the agency to limit the approvals of COVID-19 shots from Novavax and Moderna, according to records released by the FDA.
In a memorandum following Novavax's approval in May, which narrowed the shot's label to only seniors ages 65 and older and others at-risk of severe disease, the FDA's Dr. Vinay Prasad said that he disagreed with the agency's career vaccine reviewers.
Prasad was named earlier this year to replace Dr. Peter Marks, the longtime head of the agency's center regulating vaccines and other biologics, who was ousted under Kennedy. Prasad was later elevated to the FDA's chief medical and scientific officer as well, absorbing the roles of other top-ranking FDA officials who were removed or left under the Trump administration.
