Political Influence at the FDA (with former FDA Commissioners Mark McClellan and Robert Califf)

In maybe the most heated In the Bubble episode, Andy talks with two former FDA commissioners -- Mark McClellan from the George W. Bush administration and Robert Califf from the Obama administration -- and confronts them about the politicization of the FDA under President Trump. The former commissioners are hesitant to criticize the current head of the FDA, Stephen Hahn, but Andy pushes them pretty hard on Hahn's inaccurate statements regarding convalescent plasma and what effect that might have on the public's trust in the FDA as the agency gears up to approve a COVID-19 vaccine.

Keep up with Andy on Twitter @ASlavitt and Instagram @andyslavitt.

Follow Robert Califf on Twitter @califf001.

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Check out these resources from today’s episode:

• Learn more about the evidence for convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19: https://www.vox.com/2020/8/24/21399007/trump-covid-19-convalescent-plasma-coronavirus-fda-nih-stephen-hahn.
• Read Robert Califf’s four-part Twitter thread on convalescent plasma:
• Part 1: https://twitter.com/califf001/status/1300784302402215937
• Part 2: https://twitter.com/califf001/status/1301100106427568128
• Part 3: https://twitter.com/califf001/status/1301126292763533314
• Part 4: https://twitter.com/califf001/status/1301329017040142337
• Listen to Mark McClellan’s first In The Bubble appearance, where he discusses the COVID-19 vaccine with Andy and David Agus: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/toolkit-everything-you-need-to-know-about-vaccines/id1504128553?i=1000488693356,
• Pre-order Andy’s book, Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response, here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250770165.

To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/in-the-bubble shortly after the air date.

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