Ousted FDA vaccine chief Vinay Prasad is returning to the agency
[August 12, 2025]
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Food and Drug Administration official is getting his
job back as the agency's top vaccine regulator, less than two weeks
after he was pressured to step down at the urging of biotech executives,
patient groups and conservative allies of President Donald Trump.
Dr. Vinay Prasad is resuming leadership of the FDA center that regulates
vaccines and biotech therapies, a spokesperson for the Department of
Health and Human Services said in a statement Monday.
Prasad left the agency late last month after drawing ire of right-wing
activists, including Laura Loomer, because of his past statements
criticizing Trump.
A longtime a critic of FDA's standards for approving medicines, Prasad
briefly ordered the maker of a gene therapy for Duchenne's muscular
dystrophy to halt shipments after two patient deaths. But that action
triggered pushback from the families of boys with the fatal condition
and libertarian supporters of increased access to experimental
medicines.
Prasad’s decision to pause the therapy was criticized by The Wall Street
Journal editorial board, former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum and
others. The FDA swiftly reversed its decision suspending the therapy's
use.
Loomer posted online that Prasad was “a progressive leftist saboteur,”
noting his history of praising liberal independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.
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In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, Vinay Prasad smiles for a portrait. (U.S. FDA via
AP)
 But Prasad has had the backing of
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy
Jr., who have both called for scrutinizing the use of COVID-19
vaccines. Under Prasad, the FDA restricted the approval of two new
COVID-19 shots from vaccine makers Novavax and Moderna and set
stricter testing requirements for future approvals.
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