Dr. Marty Makaray is Donald Trump’s choice to be head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but based on some of the BS he spewed today during an appearance on “Face the Nation,” he shouldn’t be allowed to apply a Band-Aid, let alone be head of an agency as important as the FDA.
When Brennan asked about Makaray’s thoughts on the safety of vaccines, especially as they relate to pregnant women, he responded, “We’re saying it’s going to be between a doctor and a patient until that committee meets or more experts weigh in, or we get some clinical data. If there’s zero clinical data, you’re opining. I mean, you’re just, it’s a theory, and so we don’t want to put out an absolute recommendation for kids with no clinical data at this point.”
“So you made this pronouncement as well on pregnant women. There is data,” Brennan noted, and then read from a document. “Researchers in the UK analyzed a series of 67 studies, which included 1.8 million women, and the journal BMJ Global Health published it. People can Google it at home, and it says the COVID vaccine in pregnant women is highly effective in reducing the odds of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospital admission and improves pregnancy outcomes with no serious safety concerns. This is data that shows that it is recommended or could be advised, for pregnant women to take this vaccine. Why do you find otherwise?”
“There’s no randomized control trial. That’s the gold standard,” Makaray said. “Those 67 studies are mixed. The data in pregnant women is different for healthy versus women with a comorbid condition. So it’s a very mixed bag. So we’re saying your obstetrician, your primary care doctor, and the pregnant woman should together decide whether or not to get it. 12 percent of pregnant women last year got the COVID shot. So people have serious concerns, and it’s probably because they want to see a randomized trial data, the randomized trial of pregnant women–.”
“But in the meantime, the world moves on,” Brennan told the doctor. “And you published in the New England Journal of Medicine on May 20. In that report, you referenced, you listed pregnancy as an underlying medical condition that increases a person’s risk for severe COVID. You said that. So then seven days later, you joined in this video announcement saying you should drop the recommendation for the COVID vaccine in healthy pregnant women. So what changed in the seven days?”
“In the New England Journal of Medicine, we simply list what the. What the CDC has traditionally defined as high risk, and we’re just saying, decide with your doctor. We’re not saying the other–,”
Brennan interjected, “But doctors want data and information as well from you.”
“So here’s the data on pregnant women,” he replied. “A randomized control trial was set up, and it was closed without any explanation. We wanted to see that trial complete so women can have information that in a randomized control trial, which is the gold standard, this is what the data shows. We don’t have those data.”
“All right. It is still unclear what pregnant women now should do until they get the data that you say–,” Brennan said.
“I’d say talk to their doctor,” Makaray answered.
It sounds like Dr. Makaray is trying to align his views with those of the man who will be his boss, Robert Kennedy, the head of the Department of Health and Human Services, who is known to be opposed to almost all vaccines.
Let’s face it: If we manage to make it through the next four years without a few hundred million of us dying due to a lack of vaccines, it’ll be a freaking miracle.
Here’s the video:
