FDA's top vaccine official leaves agency after controversial decisions
The Food and Drug Administration's top official has left the agency after nearly three months as Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, a government spokesperson said late on Tuesday.
Dr. Vinay Prasad, an oncologist who previously criticized the FDA and was a fierce critic of COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates, was appointed in May.
"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 from the Department of Health and Human Services told Reuters in an emailed statement.
Endpoints News first reported Prasad's departure.
During Prasad's short stint, the FDA limited the use of COVID-19 vaccines and declined to approve a therapy for skin cancer. Prasad also held the additional role of the agency's chief medical and science officer, to which he was appointed last month, according to STAT News.
Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan, Shivani Tanna and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Christian Schmollinger and Pooja Desai