Under MAGA Fire, Controversial Vinay Prasad Resigns From FDA

WASHINGTON, DC – Dr. Vinay Prasad, the polarizing official who led U.S. vaccine oversight under the Trump administration, has stepped down from his position at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just three months after taking office.

Prasad’s exit marks a sudden end to one of the shortest tenures in recent FDA history. His leadership saw a dramatic pivot in national COVID-19 vaccine policy — one that reversed years of agency precedent and placed new limits on booster recommendations.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, Prasad is returning to California to spend more time with his family. Officials also praised his “important reforms” and said he did not want to become a distraction to the agency’s broader mission.

A longtime critic of federal pandemic policy, Prasad was brought in this May to replace Dr. Peter Marks as head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Marks had been removed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a sweeping shake-up of top FDA leadership, CBS News noted. Within weeks, Prasad was elevated again — becoming chief medical and scientific officer, consolidating oversight of vaccines, biologics, and medical science into a single powerful portfolio.

Prasad’s appointment was met with immediate skepticism from both inside and outside the agency. A trained oncologist and public health researcher, he had previously accused the FDA of approving COVID-19 boosters without strong clinical trial evidence and had openly questioned the necessity of repeat vaccination for healthy young people. Those views soon translated into formal policy: under Prasad’s leadership, the FDA announced it would recommend COVID-19 vaccines only for people aged 65 and older or those at high risk — a significant departure from previous guidance.

Internally, records released this month revealed that Prasad had overridden career FDA staff to limit emergency use approvals for updated shots from Moderna and Novavax. The agency also said future vaccine approvals would require data from randomized clinical trials, even for younger age groups previously covered under broad authorizations.

There was also the political angle. Right-wing activist Laura Loomer launched a public campaign attacking Prasad’s past support for Democrats, calling him a “lifelong progressive” who held “vicious anti-Trump” views. Her posts gained traction in conservative circles.

Born in Ohio and educated at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins, Prasad built his reputation as a sharp critic of what he viewed as overreach in evidence-based medicine. His move to the FDA surprised many former colleagues.