GOP PRESSES FDA ON BOOSTERS
House Republicans, saying they care about political interference in federal health agencies, are requesting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provide information on any potential White House pressure to approve COVID-19 booster vaccines for the general population.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), ranking member on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, sent a letter Tuesday to the FDA requesting documents on Biden administration communications about booster shots amid concerns of “potential political interference.”
In the letter, lawmakers accused Biden of announcing its plan to allow mRNA vaccine recipients to get boosters beginning on Sept. 20 “without evidence and data.”
“President Biden, instead of following the science, is attempting to distract from his numerous crises by playing politics and moving out ahead of the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) when it comes to the science on coronavirus vaccine booster shots,” the letter to acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock reads.
What they request: For their probe, the Republicans set a Sept. 28 deadline for receiving all documents and communications, including those between the FDA and the White House on booster shots, studies into booster shots for mRNA vaccine recipients and Biden’s announcement on booster availability.
The request also involves documents and communications related to the departure of two FDA officials, as well as “any effort by political appointees or White House personnel to review, revise, edit, delay, or prohibit publication of information related to booster shots” and any employment action “taken or considered … related to the science” of booster shots.
