FDA commissioner promoted off-label COVID-19 vaccine use despite ban

 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting the health of Americans, but some people are questioning the actions of FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf, who seems to promote pharmaceuticals for off-label use despite the practice being banned. During his first stint as FDA commissioner under Barack Obama's presidency, Dr. Califf drafted a proposal that would allow pharmaceutical firms to advertise their drugs for off-label use, which the FDA has long prohibited. This proposal received significant pushback from Senator Ed Markey, who warned against the FDA becoming complicit in the growing prescription fentanyl problem.

In 2009, Pfizer paid $2.3 billion for illegally marketing over a dozen of its drugs off label, leading to investigations by several federal agencies, including the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations. The dangerous outcomes of off-label drug use still make headlines, and even the New York Times mentioned Dr. Califf's push for off-label promotion in his previous stint as FDA commissioner when President Biden appointed him to the role again in 2021.

Now, after this criticism has died down, Dr. Califf is pushing for the off-label use of COVID-19 vaccines to protect children from long COVID-19. He posted about this on X several months ago, sharing an article from the journal Nature about how the vaccines can accomplish this. However, the FDA has admitted that this is not an authorized use, and the study was small, observational, and contained quotes from pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Jessica Snowden. The study was problematic in many ways, especially because it relied on self-reports of long COVID rather than an official diagnosis from a medical professional.

Dr. Califf's questionable stance is back in the spotlight after he recently gave a speech about the threat of "medical misinformation," which may have been related to COVID-19 vaccines. 

https://www.naturalnews.com/2024-11-06-fda-commissioner-promoted-off-label-vaccine-despite-ban.html