Indian-origin man, critic of COVID boosters, becomes US top vaccine official

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has picked Dr. Vinay Prasad, a scientist of Indian origin, as new director of the Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), the branch responsible for vaccine approvals and other biological products.

The FDA announced it on Tuesday, saying Prasad will replace Dr. Peter Marks. Marks, who assisted in leading Operation Warp Speed during the COVID-19 pandemic, departed the FDA in March. The role has been occupied by an acting director since then.

Dr. Prasad is well known for his strong views, especially his criticism of how the FDA handled COVID-19 vaccine boosters. He has often spoken out about the lack of proper testing before booster shots were approved.

“Dr. Prasad brings the kind of scientific rigor, independence, and transparency we need at CBER — a significant step forward,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

WHY IS HE CONTROVERSIAL?

Dr. Prasad has not been shy about expressing his disagreement with past FDA decisions. He opposed the emergency use authorisation of COVID-19 boosters, claiming there was not enough solid data from randomised clinical trials. In 2024, he publicly criticised his predecessor, Dr. Marks, saying he was “either incompetent or corrupt to authorise a booster without clinical, randomised data.”

After Marks left the FDA, Prasad didn’t hold back his opinion. “You could replace Peter Marks with a bobblehead doll that just stamps approval and you would have the same outcome at FDA with lower administrative fees,” he posted online. He also called Marks “one of the most dangerous, pro-pharma regulators of the 21st century” and a “mediocre academic.”

Prasad has also denounced the continued use of COVID vaccines in young children, calling it “absurd” and said changes in the virus strain may affect how well the vaccines work and how safe they are.

Dr. Prasad is also a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, in Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. During the pandemic, he became popular as he spoke out against vaccine mandates and demanded more stringent testing, even going so far as to propose that Moderna’s vaccine should be banned for men under 40.

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