The doctor who only recently resigned from his position as the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official has rejoined the agency, a spokesperson said on Aug. 9.
“At the FDA’s request, Dr. Vinay Prasad is resuming leadership of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the FDA’s parent agency, told news outlets in a statement.
Prasad resigned in July.
“Dr. Prasad did not want to be a distraction to the great work of the FDA in the Trump administration and has decided to return to California and spend more time with his family,” a spokesperson for HHS told The Epoch Times in an email at the time.
Prasad has not responded to requests for comment.
Prasad, a hematologist and oncologist, is a close ally of Dr. Marty Makary, the FDA’s commissioner.
Makary named Prasad the FDA’s top vaccine official in early May. The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research oversees vaccines and other biological products.
Makary had told reporters during an unrelated press conference on Aug. 4, when asked about Prasad, that “the idea that he was pushed out by anybody is simply untrue.”
“He saw some media headlines and didn’t want to be a distraction. We’ve encouraged him to reconsider, and we’re still doing that,” he said.
Prasad made several significant changes during his short time in office, including jointly with Makary unveiling a new policy on COVID-19 vaccines. The two-pronged approach continued letting companies provide antibody data to receive clearance for updated vaccines for the elderly and other people with a risk condition, but also required companies to provide clinical trial data to receive clearance for tens of millions of other Americans.
Prasad overruled FDA staffers three times on COVID-19 vaccines, limiting approvals of updated versions to the elderly and those at higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes since companies have not done new clinical trials.
Prasad’s office also placed a hold on administration of a vaccine against chikungunya following reports of symptoms similar to those brought on by chikungunya virus infection among vaccinated people. After Prasad resigned, the FDA lifted the hold.
Prasad and Makary also took action against gene therapies for a rare disease, muscular dystrophy, after multiple reported deaths following receipt of the therapies. One therapy was still in the investigational stage. Sarepta, the manufacturer of the therapies, eventually agreed to stop shipping the other, authorized therapy under FDA pressure. Around the time of Prasad’s resignation, the FDA recommended removing the hold on Elevidys, the authorized therapy.
Prasad faced criticism from allies of President Donald Trump, including activist Laura Loomer, over his approach to drugs as well as his past support of Democrats.
Prasad in social media posts in 2020 said he wanted Joe Biden to win the presidential election, while in 2022 he said he aligned with the Democratic Party on a number of topics, including abortion.
More recently, he had expressed support for some of Trump’s plans and said he understood why Trump won in 2024.