Marty Makary, the Johns Hopkins surgeon who President Donald Trump chose to lead the Food and Drug Administration, fended off pressure from Republican and Democratic senators Thursday over a canceled agency meeting on influenza vaccines.
Questioned by several lawmakers at a hearing held to evaluate his nomination, Makary would not commit to reconvening the meeting, at which agency advisers were set to discuss the composition of this year’s flu shots. Members of the panel were notified last week that they would not convene as scheduled.
Instead, Makary seemed to indicate he would take a broader look at the role the advisory committee plays in the FDA’s vaccine decisionmaking and whether it is providing useful advice.
“You have my commitment to review what the committees are doing [and] how they are being used,” Makary told Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., who serves as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee reviewing Markary’s nomination.
While the committee has typically endorses recommendations set by an international group, the meeting’s cancellation set off alarms among experts concerned that newly confirmed health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might push the FDA to change its vaccine review processes. Kennedy has spent years challenging vaccination policies in the U.S. and has questioned the benefits of certain common shots like those for measles and hepatitis B.
Cassidy, who previously extracted several vaccine-related promises from Kennedy, noted how the meeting’s cancellation “seems to go backwards” on Kennedy’s calls for transparency in federal government.
“How can you as FDA commissioner advocate for that transparency?” Cassidy said. “Obviously canceling that meeting will shut that door a little bit.”
Makary responded by repeating that he was not involved in the decision to cancel, which seemed to exasperate Cassidy.
“Man, we’re voting for you. How are you going to make it happen?” Cassidy responded.
Other senators, including Democrats Patty Murray of Washington, Tammy Baldwin of Wisonsin and Republican Susan Collins of Maine, questioned Makary on how he would manage the advisory committee if confirmed as commissioner.
“I would reevaluate which topics deserve a convening of the advisory committee members on [the vaccine panel] and which may not require a convening,” Makary said in response to a question from Murray.
And in answering Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., Makary echoed concerns over the potential for conflicts of interest among committee members, a complaint that Kennedy has frequently leveled against the FDA in general. (Committee members are vetted for conflicts and disclose any relevant ties to industry.)
“I think it deserves a look,” said Makary, adding that he wants to review the ethics policies for advisory committees.
