On a recent segment of Mark Hahn’s “DriveTime Live,” we discussed the controversial nominations by President-elect Trump of Dr. Mehmet Oz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for high-ranking health-related positions. I made it clear that I thought that they are all eminently unqualified, and that their nomination is an affront to Americans.
With respect to RFK, Jr., in particular, our conversation focused on vaccine efficacy. I reminded listeners of the remarkable success of vaccines in eradicating deadly childhood diseases like smallpox and polio and the rapid development of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines, which initially offered over 90% efficacy in preventing infection and continued to protect against severe outcomes as variants emerged. Mark noted that early vaccine messaging by the government may have unintentionally fueled unrealistic expectations. I disagreed.
As always, the discussion was lively, although we had to leave some topics for another day, including AI’s growing influence and recent Medicare changes.
Here is the complete audio.
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We Need Reliable Science, Technology, and Medical Expertise in Trump 2.0
Henry I. Miller, MS, MD
Henry I. Miller, MS, MD, is the Glenn Swogger Distinguished Fellow at the American Council on Science and Health. His research focuses on public policy toward science, technology, and medicine, encompassing a number of areas, including pharmaceutical development, genetic engineering, models for regulatory reform, precision medicine, and the emergence of new viral diseases. Dr. Miller served for fifteen years at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a number of posts, including as the founding director of the Office of Biotechnology.
