Ophthalmologist critical of Covid response emerges as FDA vaccine chief front-runner

An ophthalmologist who publicly criticized the Biden administration’s Covid shot strategy has emerged as the front-runner to oversee the FDA’s vaccine division, a choice that would put one of the agency’s most influential posts in the hands of a figure far outside its traditional vaccine leadership.

Dr. Houman Hemmati is being considered to lead the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the unit that regulates biological products for human use, including vaccines, blood products, and certain gene and cell therapies. If selected, Hemmati would replace Dr. Vinay Prasad, who now serves as both the FDA’s chief medical and scientific officer and director of CBER and is slated to leave at the end of April 2026.

The vacancy comes after a turbulent stretch for CBER. Prasad’s tenure drew intense scrutiny over product reviews and internal disagreements involving vaccines, gene therapies and rare-disease drugs. He also authored a memo claiming Covid vaccines killed at least 10 children, a claim for which the supporting evidence was not publicly released. The next director will inherit not just a powerful regulatory perch, but an agency still reckoning with how aggressively it should scrutinize vaccines after the pandemic.

Hemmati’s background is unusual for the role. He is a board-certified ophthalmologist, a biotech entrepreneur and a frequent Fox News guest, with leadership ties to Optigo Biotherapeutics, Levation Pharma and Vyluma. He reportedly holds a Ph.D. from Caltech and a medical degree from UCLA. In a 2023 Fox News appearance, Hemmati criticized the Biden administration’s decision to buy additional Covid shots, accusing officials of moving to help drugmakers recoup their investment.

That history matters because CBER helps set the FDA’s posture on immunization policy well beyond Covid. The director wields broad authority over whether vaccines and other biologics move forward, and over how quickly the agency confronts safety, manufacturing and efficacy questions. Putting a sharp critic of the government’s Covid response in that seat would signal a different governing instinct at the center of U.S. vaccine oversight, one likely to be watched closely by manufacturers, public health officials and outside scientists alike.

No final decision has been made. The Department of Health and Human Services said it is still vetting highly qualified candidates, and the White House said personnel reporting should be treated as speculation unless officially announced. But sources said the decision could come soon, with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary backing Hemmati as his preferred candidate while other names remain under consideration. If Hemmati gets the job, the debate over vaccines will not just continue, it will move inside the office that decides how they are judged.