FDA reappoints vaccine chief Vinay Prasad

A Food and Drug Administration official who stepped down less than two weeks ago is getting his job back as the agency’s top vaccine regulator.

FDA reappoints vaccine chief Vinay Prasad

Prasad resumes leadership of the FDA center that regulates vaccines and biotech therapies, according to a Health and Human Services spokesperson. The move comes less than two weeks after he stepped down amid pressure from biotech executives, patient groups and conservative allies of President Donald Trump. He briefly ordered the maker of a Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy to halt shipments after two patient deaths, a decision that drew backlash from families and supporters of broader access to experimental medicines. The FDA later reversed that pause. Critics from some editorial boards and lawmakers argued the pause showed risky overreach, while others defended stricter safety signals. In public, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. have also called for closer scrutiny of COVID-19 vaccines. Under Prasad, the FDA restricted the approval of two new COVID-19 shots from Novavax and Moderna and set stricter testing requirements for future approvals.

The appointment underscores the fraught political environment around vaccine policy. Supporters say the move could stabilize oversight and reassure those who want more careful review, while opponents worry it signals the agency is swayed by partisan pressure. For patients, families, and the biotech industry, the real test will be whether safety data, not headlines, guide decisions on new vaccines and therapies.

The back and forth around Prasad shows a central tension in modern health policy: keep science insulated from politics while still answering public concerns. When a regulator’s past actions shape present credibility, the agency risks looking swayed by outside pressures rather than data. Public trust rests on clear, consistent standards about safety and effectiveness.

If the reappointment is read as political reassurance, it may please some lawmakers and industry allies but alarm others who fear a return to battlefield politics in regulatory decisions. The coming months will reveal whether the FDA can maintain independence while engaging with lawmakers, patients, and industry groups, and whether safety signals continue to drive vaccine policy rather than headlines.

Highlights

The balance between science, safety, and politics will shape the FDA’s credibility in a crowded health policy arena.