Dueling memos are a case study in the politicization of scientific data

An internal FDA memo on COVID-19 vaccine safety, publicly released Wednesday, read alongside a November 2025 message from then-CBER director Vinay Prasad describing its findings, provides an elegant case study in the politicization of scientific data.

Together, the memos show how Prasad, former Commissioner Marty Makary, and former Acting CDER Director Tracy Beth Høeg transformed a real but modest safety signal into allegations of monstrous malfeasance, and then used those allegations to justify sweeping changes to FDA’s evidentiary standards that former agency leaders warn will endanger public health...