FDA commissioner on growing public mistrust of government health advice

"FDA Commissioner Martin Makary said the government must show greater humility and be more transparent if it hopes to rebuild public trust in its health guidance, which he said has been badly eroded since the pandemic. In an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep, Makary addressed recent controversy over an FDA memo that cited rare reports of child deaths linked to COVID-19 vaccinations."

""The most dangerous thing you can do in medicine is to put out a recommendation with such absolutism when the data is really flimsy," Makary said. According to Makary, the FDA is applying basic scientific thresholds to vaccines including its decision not to approve an mRNA-based flu shot that showed no benefit in late-stage trials."

The government must show greater humility and be more transparent to rebuild public trust in health guidance eroded since the pandemic. A recently released FDA memo cited rare reports of child deaths linked to COVID-19 vaccinations; the information was not new but had not been made public. Officials failed to clearly communicate how risks varied by age and underlying health conditions, even as vaccines saved many lives. Issuing absolute recommendations when data are flimsy can be dangerous. The FDA applied basic scientific thresholds, declining to approve an mRNA-based flu shot that showed no late-stage benefit. Hepatitis B vaccination remains recommended, but immediate newborn dosing for infants of hepatitis B–negative mothers is presented as absolutism and flexibility is warranted where science supports it.

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