• Posted March 9, 2026

FDA Vaccine Chief Dr. Vinay Prasad Exiting Role

Dr. Vinay Prasad, who leads the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) division that oversees vaccines and complex medical treatments, is leaving the agency at the end of April.

Prasad took on the job last May but faced criticism during his short stint.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said Prasad will return to the University of California at San Francisco, where he is a professor.

“He got a tremendous amount accomplished within his one-year sabbatical … and will be returning back to his academic home later next month,” Makary wrote in a post on X.

Makary also highlighted work Prasad helped lead, including new rules limiting approvals of updated COVID-19 vaccines mainly to older adults and people with health problems and a voucher program meant to speed up certain drug decisions.

Prasad’s stint has been marked by political battles and disagreements over drug and vaccine policy.

Last July, he was briefly dismissed at the White House’s direction after pressure from critics over his handling of drug approvals and his past support for Democrats. 

Prasad returned less than two weeks later after Makary asked the White House to reconsider.

Later last year, Prasad suggested stricter federal guidelines for vaccine approvals. He said his team had concluded that COVID vaccines might have caused the deaths of at least 10 children, though he did not provide evidence. 

Some former FDA leaders warned the changes could weaken the nation’s response to infectious diseases.

“I remain open to vigorous discussions and debate,” Prasad wrote in an internal email to staff at the time, The Washington Post reported.

He also told employees who strongly disagreed with the direction that they should consider resigning.

Prasad also faced criticism over several other decisions.

A recent conflict involved Moderna, after the FDA declined to review the company’s application for what could become the first mRNA-based flu vaccine. The agency backtracked a week later and agreed to review the submission.

Another disagreement involved a possible treatment for Huntington’s disease being developed by gene therapy company uniQure, with disagreements about how the clinical study should be designed.

Before joining the federal government, Prasad worked as a hematologist and oncologist and taught at UC-San Francisco. 

He gained attention for criticizing how some cancer drugs are approved and questioning several pandemic-era policies.

The FDA is now searching for someone new to lead the agency’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, according to an internal email obtained by The Post.

Prasad had assumed that role after Dr. Peter Marks, a key figure in the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines, was forced out by the Trump administration.

Prasad’s departure dovetails with major leadership changes across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as officials work to stabilize an agency known to have faced internal conflicts.

More information

Gardner Law has more on staffing changes at the FDA.

SOURCE: The Washington Post, March 6, 2026