NEW YORK – Former Commissioner of Food and Drug Administration Scott Gottlieb criticized the current government’s approach to contain a fatal outbreak of measles and the plan to improve the supply of the infant formula.
Gottlieb was the leader of the FDA during the first administration of Trump and offered his thoughts about a wide range of challenges with which health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confronted on Stat’s Breakthrough Summit East on Thursday.
In particular, Gottlieb called Kennedy’s reaction to the outbreak of measles. He said it missed a full-throated push to vaccinate and instead was aimed at parental choice and the use of vitamin A as treatment. Studies show that vitamin A can improve the chances of surviving measles, but some experts have wondered if it has benefits in children who are not malnourished.
“That is extremely harmful because the impression it leaves to consumers is that a treatment is available for measles, while in fact that is not,” said Gottlieb.
Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Obama government, also criticized Kennedy’s reaction to the outbreak of measles during the event. He warned that Kennedy hesitation on vaccines in combination with the steps of the Trump government to lower the federal health programs, could change the outbreak in a disaster in public health.
Gottlieb also wondered whether the recently unveiled plan of the administration, called ‘Operation Stork Speed’, to improve the American baby formula, will tackle underlying problems. Kennedy met leading baby formula makers on Tuesday to press them on nutritional composition, regulatory standards for European companies and the formula service chain.
“You see a part of the dialogue coming out of this, and you would think they have discovered fire,” said Gottlieb.
The Operation Stork speed plan-a RIFF on Operation WARP Speed, the COVID-19 vaccine development plan of the Trump administration interval. Requiring better formula labels, increasing testing for heavy metals, making a more import of foreign formula possible and conducts research from the health results.
Leaders in the Make America Healthy Reme Movement have Praised European baby formulaBut Gottlieb noted that regulatory standards are higher for formula makers in the United States. He wondered if emulating the European system would improve the American market.
The question is whether Kennedy will be able to strengthen the children’s market, given the lack of resources of the FDA Food Center. The center has always missed money and can also lose staff when employees enter the probationary period of the administration. Gottlieb compared the potential slowness of the administration plan with the slow flight speed of a stork.
“In some respects, it was appropriate to the name Project Stork speed, because a stork travels 15 miles per hour, versus Operation Warp Speed, which goes much faster,” Gottlieb said.
Marty Makary, President Trump’s choice to run the FDA, is planned for a confirmation mood in the Senate next week.
Drug makers are struggling with the tariff war of the Trump government. Gottlieb, who is on the Pfizer board, called for fewer drastic measures to encourage companies to reduce their production to the United States.
“Hopefully there is a kind of more intentional, thoughtful policy set up where you create stimuli and structures that can make production here,” said Gottlieb.
Gottlieb also referred to a first opinion article that he published in Stat on Thursday, in which Kennedy’s questioned suggestion To let bird flu spread free by herds. The occurrence of herds that are infected in the first place is the key, he said, who will crash the enveloping egg prices that Americans have seen.