Trump-Appointed FDA Commissioner Marty Makary Voices Skepticism About Federal Vaccine Recommendations

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary voiced skepticism about previous federal Covid-19 vaccine recommendations.

“We believe the recommendation should be with a patient and their doctor,” he told Face The Nation, breaking from standard messaging and voicing a doctor-led approach to vaccine decisions.

Host Margaret Brennan repeatedly pressed Makary about federal guidelines, particularly in light of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent announcement that Covid vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. Makary consistently refused to give direct answers. Instead, he emphasized that individual doctors should make such decisions.

Makary criticized the CDC’s previous data practices, arguing that its findings are “contaminated with a lot of false positives” due to routine Covid testing in hospitals. He also targeted the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, calling it a “kangaroo court” that “rubber-stamps” vaccine approvals.

Throughout the interview, Brennan sought specifics, particularly around vaccines for pregnant women, but Makary offered none. “In the absence of data, they should talk to their doctor,” he repeated, sidestepping Brennan’s question on when that data might actually arrive.

Makary has long been a critic of the Biden administration’s pandemic response. His selection by President Donald Trump was framed as an effort to restore confidence in the FDA. But the exchange raised fresh concerns over the consistency of federal public health messages.