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CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Transcript: FDA commissioner Dr. Marty Makary on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," June 1, 2025
The following is the transcript of an interview with FDA commissioner Dr. Marty Makary that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on June 1, 2025. MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face the Nation. We're joined now by FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary. Good morning. FDA COMMISSIONER DR. MARTY MAKARY: Good morning. MARGARET BRENNAN: Good to have you here in person. DR. MAKARY: Good to be here. MARGARET BRENNAN: So I want to get through a lot here, but one of the things we've noticed is this new COVID variant that seems to be circulating in Asia. I believe it's NB.1.8.1. It's a variant under monitoring. What do we need to know? DR. MAKARY: Yeah so this appears to be a subvariant of JN.1, which has been the dominant strain so it's believed that there is cross-immunity protection. The COVID- COVID virus is going to continue to mutate, and it's behaving like a common cold virus. It's now going to become the fifth coronavirus that's seasonal, that causes about 25% of the cases of the common cold. MARGARET BRENNAN: So you're thinking of it as like a flu-type variant, just a normal fluctuation. DR. MAKARY: The flu mutates about 34 times more frequently than COVID. The COVID variant mutation rate appears to be a little more stable, but the international bodies that have provided some guidance on which strain to target, have suggested that either JN.1 or any of these subvariants would be reasonable strains to target. MARGARET BRENNAN: So you don't seem overly concerned about that. I want to get now into some of the recommendations that have been very specific this week from the CDC and you with the HHS Secretary in this video announcement on Tuesday where Secretary Kennedy said the CDC was removing the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women from its recommended immunization schedule. He then had a memo to the CDC rescinding recommendations for kids' vaccines, saying the known risks do not outweigh the benefits. Then late Thursday, the CDC said quote "shared clinical decision-making," which I think is just talking to your doctor should determine whether kids get vaccinated. Can you clearly state what the policy is? Because this is confusing. DR. MAKARY: Yeah, we believe the recommendation should be with a patient and their doctor. So we're going to get away from these blanket recommendations in healthy, young Americans because we don't want to see-- MARGARET BRENNAN: For all vaccines? DR. MAKARY: We don't- well on the COVID vaccine schedule, we don't want to see kids kicked out of school because a 12-year-old girl is not getting her fifth COVID booster shot. We don't see the data there to support a young, healthy child getting a repeat, infinite, annual COVID vaccine. There's a theory that we should sort of blindly approve the new COVID boosters in young, healthy kids every year in perpetuity, and a young girl born today should get 80 COVID mRNA shots, or other COVID shots in her average lifespan. We're saying that's a theory, and we'd like to check in and get some randomized, controlled data. It's been about four years since the original randomized trials, so we'd like an evidence based approach. Dr. Prasad and I published this in the New England Journal of Medicine last week, and we're basically saying we'd like to bring some confidence back to the public around this repeat booster strategy theory, because-- MARGARET BRENNAN: Your statement was not about repeat boosters. It says the vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women, the vaccine is not recommended for healthy children. That's different than annual boosters. DR. MAKARY: Yeah at this point we're dealing, you know, it is a booster strategy- people would be getting the updated shot. So whether or not a young, healthy-- (CROSSTALK) MARGARET BRENNAN: But what about kids who haven't gotten a shot? DR. MAKARY: So we'd like to see the data. We'd love to see that- that data. It doesn't exist. MARGARET BRENNAN: No, no, no, but on a practical level, for a parent at home, hearing you, trying to make sense here. DR. MAKARY: Yeah. We're saying, take it back to your doctor. MARGARET BRENNAN: Their child has not been vaccinated. Are you recommending that their first encounter with COVID be an actual infection? (END CROSSTALK) DR. MAKARY: We're not going to push the COVID shot in young, healthy kids without any clinical trial data supporting it. That is a decision between a parent and their doctor. And just so, I don't know if you know the statistics, but 80 for 88% of American kids, their parents, have said no to the COVID shot last season. So America, the vast majority Americans, are saying no. Maybe they want to see some clinical data as well. Maybe they have concerns about the safety-- (CROSSTALK) MARGARET BRENNAN: I don't want to crowdsource my health guidance. I want a clear thing-- DR. MAKARY: The worst thing you-- MARGARET BRENNAN: --I wouldn't go with popularity-- DR. MAKARY: The worst thing-- MARGARET BRENNAN: --I'm going with, as you're saying, data-- DR. MAKARY: --Yeah so let's see the data. (END CROSSTALK) MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. So the CDC data said 41% of children aged six months to 17 years hospitalized with COVID between 2022 and 2024 did not have a known underlying condition. In other words, they looked healthy-- DR. MAKARY: So-- MARGARET BRENNAN: --and COVID was serious for them. DR. MAKARY: So first of all, we know the CDC data is contaminated with a lot of false positives from incidental positive COVID tests with routine testing of every kid that walks in the hospital-- MARGARET BRENNAN: You don't trust the CDC data? DR. MAKARY: --When I go to the ICU, when I walk to the P- the we know, We know that data, historically under the Biden administration, did not distinguish being sick from COVID or an incidental positive COVID test. When you go to an ICU in America and you ask, how many people are in the ICU that are healthy, that are sick with COVID, the answer I get again and again is, we haven't seen that in a year or years. And so the worst thing you can do in public health is to put out an absolute universal recommendation in young, healthy kids. And the vast majority of Americans are saying, no, we want to see some data. And you say, Forget about the data. Just get it anyway. MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so on data and transparency for decades, since 1964 it was the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, ACIP that went through this panel recommendation. People watched these things during COVID. The report was then handed up. It offered debate, it offered transparency, and it offered data points that people could refer back to. Why did you bypass all of this and just come down with a decision before the panel could meet and meet that data? DR. MAKARY: That panel has been a kangaroo court where they just rubber stamp every single vaccine put in front of them. If you look at the minutes of the report from, they even say we were- generally want to move towards a risk stratified approach. MARGARET BRENNAN: So why not let them do that in June? DR. MAKARY: So in the meantime, we don't want an absolute recommendation for healthy kids to get it. They can do it, and that committee-committee will meet and make recommendations. But you look at the minutes of the last couple of years, they say we want a simple message for everybody, just so they can understand it. It was not a data based conversation. It was a conversation based on marketing and ease and and I've written an article titled "Why the people don't trust the CDC," and it's in part from that blanket strategy– MARGARET BRENNAN: You're telling them not to right now. You just said don't trust the CDC. DR. MAKARY: We're saying it's going to be between a doctor and a patient until that committee meets or more experts weigh in, or we get some clinical data. If there's zero clinical data, you're opining. I mean, you're just, it's a theory, and so we don't want to put out an absolute recommendation for kids with no clinical data at this point. MARGARET BRENNAN: So you made this pronouncement as well on pregnant women. There is data. Researchers in the UK analyzed a series of 67 studies, which included 1.8 million women, and the journal BMJ Global Health published it. People can Google it at home, and it says the COVID vaccine in pregnant women is highly effective in reducing the odds of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospital admission and improves pregnancy outcomes with no serious safety concerns. This is data that shows that it is recommended or could be advised, for pregnant women to take this vaccine. Why do you find otherwise? DR. MAKARY: There's no randomized control trial. That's the gold standard. Those 67 studies are mixed. The data in pregnant women is different for healthy versus women with a comorbid condition. So it's a very mixed bag. So we're saying your obstetrician, your primary care doctor, and the pregnant woman should together decide whether or not to get it. 12% of pregnant women last year got the COVID shot. So people have serious concerns, and it's probably because they want to see a randomized trial data, the randomized trial of pregnant women– MARGARET BRENNAN: But in the meantime, the world moves on, and you published in the New England Journal of Medicine on May 20. In that report, you referenced, you listed pregnancy as an underlying medical condition that increases a person's risk for severe COVID. You said that. So then seven days later, you joined in this video announcement saying you should drop the recommendation for the COVID vaccine in healthy pregnant women. So what changed in the seven days? DR. MAKARY: In the New England Journal medicine, we simply list what the f- what the CDC has traditionally defined as high risk, and we're just saying, decide with your doctor. We're not saying the other– MARGARET BRENNAN: But doctors want data and information as well from you– DR. MAKARY: and the randomized trial– so here's the data on pregnant women. A randomized control trial was set up, and it was closed without any explanation. We wanted to see that trial complete so women can have information that in a randomized control trial, which is the gold standard, this is what the data shows. We don't have those data. MARGARET BRENNAN: All right. It is still unclear what pregnant women now should do until they get the data that you say-- DR. MAKARY: I'd say talk to their doctor. MARGARET BRENNAN: When do they get the data you're promising? All these controlled studies. DR. MAKARY: In the absence of data, they should talk to their doctor-- MARGARET BRENNAN: So no date? DR. MAKARY: --and their doctor will use their best wisdom and judgment. MARGARET BRENNAN: FDA Commissioner, thank you for trying to help clear this up.
Arab News
3 days ago
- General
- Arab News
India sees tenfold rise in COVID-19 cases
NEW DELHI: India has reported a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases over the past 10 days, official data showed on Sunday, with new, more transmissible virus variants believed to be driving the surge. A new wave of infections emerged in parts of Asia last month, especially Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Thailand. The new spread of the coronavirus that a few years ago brought the world to a standstill has been linked to JN.1, a highly transmissible variant of the omicron strain of COVID-19. It emerged in late 2023 and spread globally through early 2024, becoming one of the dominant variants in many countries. India's current caseload is 3,395 as of Sunday, according to Ministry of Health data – up significantly from the previous official count of 257 on May 22. The ministry confirmed last week it had detected across the country two subvariants of JN.1 – LF.7 and NB.1.8.1 – which spread faster but are believed to be mild. '(The) majority of those are mild cases, just like seasonal flu, and we are not seeing any significant admission or emergency visits due to COVID-19. Right now, the situation is under control. Any flu that starts spreading spreads fast like wildfire,' Dr. Nikhil Modi, pulmonology and respiratory medicine specialist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, told Arab News. While in the last 24 hours, four deaths have been recorded – in Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh – the 'patients were already suffering from critical illnesses,' Modi said. 'Severe disease is not being reported anywhere significantly.' India was one of the worst-hit countries during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. At its peak, health authorities recorded over 400,000 new cases per day. Hospitals across many states were overwhelmed with patients and faced severe shortages of oxygen supplies, hospital beds, ventilators, and critical medicines. The World Health Organization estimates that 4.7 million deaths in India were directly and indirectly related to COVID-19. 'The way we have seen COVID-19 in 2021, panic is bound to come but things, for the time being, are under control. We are not seeing admissions significantly rising due to COVID, so we should be able to manage. Advisories and preparedness in all hospitals have started, so if the situation changes, we are ready for it,' Modi said. 'Right now, we don't have to panic about it.'
Time of India
7 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Chandigarh sees 1st Covid death in N India as patient from Ludh dies in hosp
Chandigarh/Ludhiana: As Covid-19 cases surge in the country, Chandigarh saw the first Covid death on Wednesday, with a 40-year-old patient, originally from Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, and referred from a Ludhiana hospital, succumbing at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh. Seven patients have reportedly died due to the virus recently, and this is the eighth death in the country and the first in North India. The earlier deaths were reported from Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. Confirming the death, Dr GP Thami, Medical Superintendent at GMCH, said the patient, who worked in Ludhiana, was admitted to the hospital two days ago with severe respiratory problems. He tested positive for Covid on Tuesday and passed away early Wednesday did not have a recent travel history, as per his family. "We tested him on the second day as he came with respiratory distress and was put on a ventilator," said Dr Thami. The patient was immediately placed in isolation within the hospital's Covid ward. The body of the deceased was packed and handed over to his relatives. A health department official in Ludhiana said that the deceased used to work as a gardener and is survived by a wife and four children. The official added that the patient had suffered from fever, cough and breathlessness for three-four days before he went to a hospital on May 22. "On May 23, the patient was admitted to the hospital before his oxygen level dropped, and he was referred to a Chandigarh hospital on May 26. The patient was sent in an ambulance. After his death, his body was properly packed and sent to Ludhiana in an ambulance, and his family members have cremated him," the official added. The family members are asymptomatic as of now. According to the health department, about a year ago, the patient was initially admitted to SPS Hospital for fever and abdominal problems, where he was diagnosed with Hepatitis B. More recently, on May 23, 2025, he was admitted to ESI Hospital experiencing breathlessness and pneumonia. Health authorities in Chandigarh are working to detect the variant of Covid responsible for this infection. Dr Suman Singh, Director Health Services, Chandigarh, urged citizens to adhere to preventive measures. "Do not go to crowded places, wash hands, and observe hygiene. Do not self-medicate in case you have flu-like symptoms. Wear masks wherever necessary," advised Dr Singh. The administration is on high alert, emphasising the need for public vigilance and strict adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour to contain the spread of the virus in the city. She said, "We will not have routine screening but test only suspected cases with influenza-like illness, pneumonia, etc." Regarding the testing for the new JN1 variant, the epidemiologists and public health experts in PGI have requested Punjab to send the sample for genomic surveillance to know the prevalent strain.
NDTV
24-05-2025
- Health
- NDTV
Karnataka Minister Urges People Not To Panic Amid Rise In COVID Cases
Bengaluru: Amid a gradual uptick in COVID-19 cases in Karnataka over the past few days, state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday asked people to stay calm and continue with their daily routines. Addressing reporters here, Mr Rao said, "I appeal to everyone not to panic because when you see reports in the media that COVID-19 has returned to haunt people, people get alarmed." He also appealed to the media to present an accurate picture of the situation and not exaggerate the severity of the COVID-19 disease, which became an pandemic five years ago. The Health Minister's reaction came in the wake of a statement issued by his department on Friday, which said 35 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state including 32 in Bengaluru alone. The Minister also said the state government is on alert and has taken all necessary precautions to contain the spread of the virus. Referring to the spike in cases in neighbouring Kerala, Dinesh Gundu Rao said increased testing there could result in higher number of cases. The Centre's guidelines clearly state that monitoring is sufficient and there is no need for special measures. Mr Rao clarified that there are no COVID-19 related restrictions and people can move around freely. "People can go and come from any part of the country. People can lead their lives in a normal way," he said. Regarding the recent spurt in case, Mr Rao said there was a possibility of a sub category of coronavirus. "It could be a sub-variant of JN 1. These were detected in Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia. There is no panic there in those countries as well," he told reporters.
Reuters
23-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Moderna files application for updated COVID vaccine
May 23 (Reuters) - Moderna (MRNA.O), opens new tab said on Friday it had filed a marketing application for an updated COVID vaccine to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company said the submission is based on guidance from the FDA, which advised that COVID-19 vaccines should be updated to target newer strains that are a part of JN.1 lineage, with a preference for the LP.8.1 variant.
