EXCLUSIVE: FDA Commissioner Responds to Critics: ‘Be Patient With Us’ on COVID-19 Vaccines

‘I would ask people to be patient with us as we do this the proper scientific way,’ Dr. Marty Makary said.

Dr. Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, in Washington on May 5, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration is responding to critics of the agency’s recent approvals of COVID-19 vaccines, saying the FDA is involved in a process that takes time.

Dr. Marty Makary urged patience after disclosing that he was aware of research indicating COVID-19 vaccines may cause immune system deregulation and described databases with self-reported adverse events as inadequate to determine harms from vaccines.