In 2021, Dr. Vinay Prasad wrote an article titled At a Time When the U.S. Needed Covid-19 Dialogue Between Scientists, Francis Collins Moved to Shut It Down. In it, Dr. Prasad spoke about the value of “public dialogue between scientists” and said that Dr. Francis Collin, then the head of the NIH, had an obligation to have hosted “series of public discussions and dialogues” with advocates of herd immunity via mass infection. “It is possible that through the heat of dialogue, weak premises of the argument for focused protection might have been revealed,” Dr. Prasad wrote.
Things are very different today. Dr. Collins is on the outside, giving interviews titled Former NIH Chief Calls Research Cuts “Careless” and “Heartless”. His replacement Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is reviled by NIH employees and facing a mutiny about his censorship there. Instead of responding to their concerns, Dr. Bhattacharya launched a quick and devastating takedown of a brave scientist who had the integrity to speak up about how NIH cuts are upending his cancer trials. So much for promoting a culture of dissent.
At the FDA, Dr. Marty Makary seems to be interfering with drug approvals for political reasons and experienced professionals are being purged or resigning. Even the staid BMJ published an article titled Appointment of FDA Critic Vinay Prasad to Senior Role in Agency Prompts Departures. Fearful staff who remain report that Dr. Prasad seems bored by his job when the cameras are off. According to one news report:
Multiple agency employees, who requested anonymity to protect against retaliation, told STAT that Prasad seemed uninterested in the administrative work of being a center director. One CBER agency official said Prasad rarely attends center meetings with office directors, and that their questions about the budget, HR functions, and IT systems have gone unanswered. Prasad did not consult career staff before unveiling a new regulatory framework for Covid-19 vaccines with Makary in May.
Meanwhile, at the rudderless CDC, vaccines are predictably under attack. Responsible medical groups are looking to bypass the corrupted ACIP and form their own science-based vaccine policies. Yet, Dr. Prasad, our chief vaccine regulator, has nothing to say about any of this. Neither do Drs. Makary and Bhattacharya.
Source: Acting CDER Head Becomes Latest in String of FDA Leaders to Leave Agency
Trust in our medical establishment is justifiably collapsing, however you wouldn’t know any of this this from listening to the podcasts and videos they are churning out. Drs. Makary and Prasad put out a regular program on X and Dr. Bhattacharya recently started his own podcast. Cheer and mirth abound and everyone agrees each other. Amazing things are happening and everyone is happy. During the inaugural episode, Dr. Bhattacharya said:
Our goal is to support young scientists from all communities around the entire country of the United States.
In reality, according to one young NIH scientist, in addition to terminating their grants, Dr. Bhattacharya refuses to even meet with them.
Similarly, Dr. Makary repeated MAHA buzzwords in the typical drone-like fashion and recently said:
We’re combining efficiency and gold-standard science to ensure the U.S. remains the global leader in advancing medical cures.
Our medical establishment rose to fame saying everything was fine as COVID overwhelmed morgues and hospitals. They are now doing the same thing with the public health agencies they lead. Falsely reassuring people about grave threats is their greatest skill. The only difference is that they are no longer just spouting off on social media and Fox News. They are creating state-sponsored propaganda programs with our tax dollars.
While their disinformation fooled many people with COVID, it’s not working these days, however. No one believes that everything is just fine at the NIH, FDA, and CDC. The incompetence of our medical establishment is on full display every day, and the only way for them to restore trust is to take Dr. Prasad’s advice and host a series of “public discussions and dialogues” with people who won’t prioritize their feelings by reflexively praising their every utterance. The American public deserves honesty and transparency from our medical establishment, even if that requires them to venture outside their safe space and answer a couple tough questions from time to time. They are welcome on my podcast anytime, where Wendy Orent and I will treat them kindly and professionally.
Some of us believe in civil debate and discussion, even though Drs. Prasad, Makary, and Bhattacharya do not.