Mother Jones illustration; FDA/AP
Vinay Prasad, the FDA Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has been critical of the Covid vaccine, to put it lightly. Not only that, he has a history of minimizing mask wearing, an effective tool in limiting the spread of infectious diseases. He also compared Covid public health measures to Nazi Germany.
Prasad was temporarily ousted from his position in July following a social media push from Laura Loomer, but was back before mid-August. In May, Prasad and FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary wrote a piece in the New England Journal of Medicine urging limitations for the Covid vaccine, arguing that, “U.S. policy has sometimes been justified by arguing that the American people are not sophisticated enough to understand age-and risk-based recommendations.” Despite this argument, everyone is at risk of developing Long Covid, and getting the Covid vaccine could minimize the number of infections people get, in addition to wearing a mask.
Prasad’s anti-vaccine push is now a reality. Pfizer’s vaccine for the 2025-2026 year is approved for people between the ages of 5 and 64 for people with qualifying pre-existing health conditions, and those over the age of 65. For Moderna, it’s for kids 6 months and older who have qualifying pre-existing health conditions and seniors. It also varies state by state whether people are able to self-attest to having a condition that could make them high risk for Covid complications, which can include depression, or if they would need a doctor’s note.
Since coming back to the FDA, Prasad has also received special treatment. As the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday:
It isn’t clear, though, how much time he’ll spend at the FDA’s White Oak, Maryland, headquarters. When he was ousted at the end of July, he said he didn’t want to be a distraction and that the commute to the FDA from his home in California had been too much.
Prasad had been spending roughly three days out of every two weeks at the Maryland headquarters, documents reviewed by the Journal indicate, despite the administration’s efforts to return federal workers to the office. The agency had been footing the bill for his cross-country commute, the documents show. Prasad didn’t respond to requests for comment, and HHS declined to comment on his commute.
There is nothing inherently wrong with working from home—it can be a lot more accessible for disabled people and caregivers. However, there is a certain level of irony to Prasad doing so while many workers are forced to come in sick with Covid during the current wave. Additionally, why does he get special treatment while federal workers are forced to come back into the office daily, including traumatized CDC workers? Just last year, Prasad himself criticized work from home on social media, something he is now doing.
Work from home is bad for everyone
— Vinay Prasad MD MPH (@VPrasadMDMPH) March 14, 2024
Only a few people retain productivity
Intangible office connections are gone
Young people r further isolated and lonely
City centers decay pic.twitter.com/NZGZz0pgzU
