New Top FDA Official Says He’s Not Anti-Vaccine, but Evidence Required

Dr. Vinay Prasad has criticized the government’s position on COVID-19 vaccines.

A dose of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine is prepared, in this file image. Joroen Jumelet/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

A new top Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official said on May 8 that vaccines are good but that they need to be backed by evidence.

In his first comments since being named the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Dr. Vinay Prasad said that the FDA is going to have a standard of “solid evidence” when dealing with vaccines.