FDA resignations over White House booster shot guidance a 'mess for administration'
The FDA reportedly has not reviewed COVID-19 vaccine booster shot data
FDA officials reportedly resign over White House vaccine booster plan
Dr. Marc Siegel weighs in on the recent report suggesting the Biden administration may not be waiting on science from the agency to justify the decision.
Reports that Food and Drug Administration officials plan to step down over the White House’s COVID-19 booster shot guidance have created a "mess" for the Biden administration, according to Dr. Mark Siegel.
In a statement on Tuesday, the FDA said that Marion Gruber, director of the agency’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, and her deputy director, Phil Krause, will leave in October and November, respectively.
Siegel told "America’s Newsroom" that the seeming clash between the FDA and the White House has created "a mess for the administration."
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"There’s a lot of confusion, there’s a lot of finger pointing … this is a mess for the administration right now," Siegel said.
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Siegel acknowledged that studies out of Israel indicate a significant reduction to the spread of the virus, but that the "confusion" between the White House and health officials have complicated matters.
"It’s a combination of things where the messaging is coming out of the White House and not of the FDA, and also out of the NIH with Tony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins has said, ‘Hey, we might have the vaccines for the 5 to 11 year olds in a couple of months’ … well, FDA hasn’t reviewed the data yet," Siegel explained. "And with the boosters, the president himself said, ‘We’re going to get boosters in a month,’ and the FDA says, ‘Wait, we haven’t reviewed the data yet.’"
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Siegel claimed that acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock is also under fire, especially with her position not yet fully confirmed.
Earlier this month, President Biden said the plan was for every adult to get a booster shot eight months after getting the second shot.
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The White House’s decision comes amid the surge of the highly transmissible delta variant of COVID-19, which studies have shown to double the risk of hospitalization for unvaccinated individuals.
However, the FDA did not provide guidance to Biden on the issue of booster shots, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) reportedly spearheading decisions.
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The White House and FDA did not respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
FOX Business’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.