Tag: Trump FDA

Two P.R. Experts at F.D.A. Have Been Ousted After Blood Plasma Fiasco

New York Times logo

The agency’s chief spokeswoman, Emily Miller, was removed from her position just 11 days into the job. And the contract was terminated of a consultant who had advised the F.D.A. chief to correct misleading claims about plasma’s benefits.

The head of the Food and Drug Administration ousted its top spokeswoman from her position on Friday in an urgent bid to restore the tarnished credibility of the agency after he made erroneous claims that overstated the benefits of plasma treatments for Covid-19 at a news conference with President Trump.

The decision came just a day after the F.D.A.’s parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, terminated the contract of a public relations consultant who had advised the F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, to correct his misleading claims that 35 out of 100 Covid-19 patients “would have been saved because of the administration of plasma.”

The removals come at a moment when the agency, which will be making critical decisions about whether to approve coronavirus vaccines and treatments, is struggling to salvage its reputation as a neutral scientific arbiter. Continue reading.

Former One America News correspondent lands senior FDA post

AlterNet logo

Emily Miller, a gun-rights advocate and former senior correspondent for the right-wing One America News Network (OANN), has been appointed as assistant commissioner for media relations at the embattled Food and Drug Administration, Miller confirmed in a tweet.

It’s unclear what Miller’s qualifications for the FDA post are. In her career at OANN, she was accused of fabricating quotes from Hillary Clinton and peddling conspiracy theories alleging that the Obama administration used “smart gun” technology, which permits only authorized users to access a firearm, as a way to “track law-abiding citizens.” View the post here.

Trump administration limits FDA review of some coronavirus tests

The policy change has been a major point of tension for weeks between HHS and FDA.

The Trump administration will allow coronavirus tests developed by individual laboratories — including commercial facilities run by Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp — to be used without an FDA review, a decision that public health experts warn could lead to broad use of flawed tests.

The Department of Health and Human Services outlined the decision in a notice published Wednesday.

The majority of coronavirus tests used now in the U.S. are made by device manufacturers, who still must seek FDA permission to market their products. But the lab-developed tests affected by the new policy are also in wide use. Continue reading.

U.S. will finally use coronavirus testing method that let Wuhan test 6.5 million people in 10 days

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday gave emergency use authorization to a coronavirus testing method that could massively ramp up testing capabilities for the country.

The FDA is allowing Quest Diagnostics to test individual samples for coronavirus using a method known as batch testing, which mixes specimens from multiple people and tests the combined sample for coronavirus instead of testing samples one by one.

The Quest Diagnostics test will be the first in the U.S. with approval for use in batch testing. The FDA is allowing Quest to pool samples of up to four people. Continue reading.

Infectious Disease Expert: FDA Has ‘All But Given Up’ Oversight On Antibody Testing

“We have the wild, wild West for testing right now,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm.

The Food and Drug Administration has “all but given up” its oversight responsibility on coronavirus antibody tests, one the country’s top infectious disease experts said Sunday.

“We have the wild, wild West for testing right now,” Dr. Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

“The FDA has all but given up its oversight responsibility for the tests we have on the market,” he added. “Many of them are nothing short of a disaster.” Continue reading.

This Trump plan would strip about 500,000 kids of free school lunches

AlterNet logoThe Trump administration left important information out of its latest attempt to take food aid from millions of poor people: The plan would potentially strip around 500,000 kids of free school lunches. But while the Trump administration was up-front about the 3.1 million people who would be stripped of food stamps under its plan, it didn’t bother to mention what would specifically happen to children.

Kids automatically get free school lunch if their families receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a policy that reduces paperwork and makes sure that kids aren’t deprived of food by parents who are unable to do the paperwork for one reason or another. Trump’s plan to kick 3.1 million people off of food stamps works by taking away states’ ability to adjust eligibility to account for high housing and childcare costs. That’s a way states currently can prevent families from having to choose between a roof over their heads and food on their plates—and it’s something Trump Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue called “abuse of a critical safety net system.”

Kids automatically get free school lunch if their families receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a policy that reduces paperwork and makes sure that kids aren’t deprived of food by parents who are unable to do the paperwork for one reason or another. Trump’s plan to kick 3.1 million people off of food stamps works by taking away states’ ability to adjust eligibility to account for high housing and childcare costs. That’s a way states currently can prevent families from having to choose between a roof over their heads and food on their plates—and it’s something Trump Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue called “abuse of a critical safety net system.”

View the complete July 30 article by Laura Clawson from Daily Kos on the AlterNet website here.

FDA chief Scott Gottlieb resigns

Scott Gottlieb, the leader of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), is resigning his position effective next month, the Trump administration announced Tuesday.

In a note to FDA staff, Gottlieb said he was leaving to spend more time with his family.

“There’s nothing that could pull me away from this role other than the challenge of being apart from my family for these past two years and missing my wife and two young children,” he wrote.

View the complete March 5 article by Jessie Hellmann and Nathaniel Weixel on The Hill website here.