Califf, who was sworn in on Thursday, did not specify any particular
misinformation the FDA should fight, but millions of Americans still
refuse COVID-19 vaccines, with many conservative media outlets and
Republicans in the U.S. Congress spreading doubt about their
effectiveness.
Healthcare workers say misinformation is the single most important
factor influencing people who refuse to get vaccinated while
COVID-19 kills around 2,200 Americans a day, the majority of whom
are unvaccinated.
"These kinds of distortions and half-truths that find their way into
the public domain do enormous harm, both by leading people to
behavior that is detrimental to their health and by causing them to
eschew interventions that would improve their health," said Califf.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Feb/18/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif)
"A purely reactive mode is not appropriate, particularly in this new
era of social media," he told FDA staff in a public letter outlining
his priorities, adding that the agency will be more proactive in
providing the public with health information.
Pandemic response will remain the FDA's primary focus, Califf said,
but it will apply the lessons learned to speed the development of
new treatments to other diseases like cancer.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png) The Senate narrowly confirmed
Califf on Tuesday after some senators had argued
his ties to the pharmaceutical industry or views
on birth control made him unfit to lead the FDA.
Calif, 70, previously served as commissioner
under President Barrack Obama. He takes the helm
at the FDA for a second time 13 months after it
last had a permanent leader.
Some senators criticized the FDA response to the
opioid crisis under his leadership. Califf said
the crisis was a key priority and that current
efforts had come up short.
"With over 100,000 deaths from overdose in the
past year alone, we must accept that all the
hard work so far has not been enough," he said.
Califf said he also plans to focus on tobacco
harm-reduction and preventing electronic
cigarette use among young people.
(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by David
Gregorio)
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