FDA Commissioner Marty Makary discussed concerns over past public health decisions, vaccine data transparency, and federal research spending during an exchange with commentator Benny Johnson, touching on issues ranging from COVID-19 vaccine side effects to National Institutes of Health funding priorities.
Johnson raised questions about actions taken by federal officials during the COVID-19 pandemic, referencing a criminal referral made by Sen. Rand Paul related to former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Johnson asked whether Makary believed there had been misconduct within federal agencies during prior administrations.
“We have Senator Rand Paul on all the time, Mr. Commissioner, and he’s constantly banging on about his criminal referral for Dr. Fauci. In your time at the FDA, have you, do you believe that there’s perhaps criminal influence that may have happened in different eras?” Johnson said.
Makary responded by stating that the FDA does not maintain direct records of Fauci’s activities while he was at the NIH, but pointed to issues involving how certain vaccine-related data had been handled.
He cited myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, as a complication associated with COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in younger populations.
“Well, Dr. Fauci, since he was at the NIH we don’t directly have any records of his activities, but we did see a cover up to silence data on myocarditis, a covid vaccine complication, highest in young kids. So young kids were the lowest risk for covid, getting in trouble with covid infection, and they were the highest risk for myocarditis. So by sort of suppressing that information, it sort of created misrepresentation the risk benefit ratio,” Makary said. Dr. Fauci, since he was at the NIH, we don’t directly have any records of his activities, but we did see a cover-up