FDA nominee pledges to review cancellation of annual vaccine advisory meeting and to protect advisory committee transparency

Dr. Marty Makary, President Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions that he would review and, if necessary, reconvene the agency's vaccine advisory committee after the committee canceled its annual meeting to recommend influenza vaccine strains.

"You have my commitment to take a look at it," Dr. Makary said when pressed about the Food and Drug Administration's decision to cancel the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meeting. "I will immediately reevaluate which sessions ... could benefit from" advisory committee convenings.

Senators including Patty Murray and Bill Cassidy pressed Dr. Makary on the importance of transparency and outside expertise. Senator Patty Murray said the annual meeting has taken place for decades and called cancellation "unprecedented and dangerous," asking Dr. Makary to commit to rescheduling the meeting promptly to secure expert input on strain selection for next season's flu vaccine.

Dr. Makary said he was not involved in the decision to cancel the meeting and emphasized that advisory panels provide both expertise and public confidence. "The American public deserves confidence that independent scientists are looking at the data," he said, and committed to review how the committees are being used and when convenings are appropriate.

Multiple senators voiced concern that canceling or sidelining advisory panels reduces transparency in decision-making and urged the nominee to maintain open, public expert review of high-stakes vaccine decisions. Dr. Makary also told senators he supports ethics reviews of advisory committee members to identify potential conflicts of interest.

If confirmed, Dr. Makary said he would work with career center directors and committee leadership to decide which topics require full advisory committee review and to restore public confidence in committee deliberations.

The exchange highlighted the committee’s focus on preserving the advisory panel process as a check on internal agency decision-making and a source of public transparency.