The next is the transcript of the interview with former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who now serves on the boards of Pfizer and United Healthcare, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Dec. 7, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: For a have a look at some current adjustments to U.S. public well being coverage. We’re joined now by former FDA commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb. He additionally serves on the boards of Pfizer and United Healthcare. Welcome again.
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Thanks.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You realize there was some fairly huge information on Friday, and the American Academy of Pediatrics stated they’re deeply alarmed that the CDC vaccine advisory panel, ACIP voted on this 8-3 choice to vary this 30 12 months lengthy coverage relating to Hepatitis B and newborns. They’re now recommending delaying the dose till a toddler is 2 months outdated, as a substitute of inside 24 hours of start. What does this choice imply for households of newborns?
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Yeah. Properly, look, I feel we first want to grasp why we give that start dose of the vaccine, as a result of the thought of giving a vaccine to a new child, to quite a lot of mother and father, sounds discomforting, that the very first thing a toddler goes to face once they’re born goes to be a vaccine throughout the first 24 hours. For a kid over the age of 5, in the event that they develop Hepatitis B an infection, in the event that they’re uncovered to it, they’ll have a 95% probability of clearing that an infection, they usually’ll go on to develop lifelong immunity. For youngsters between the ages of 1 and 5, they solely have a couple of 25 to 50% probability of clearing the an infection, so about 25 to 50% of children will develop continual an infection, and a couple of quarter of them will go on to die from hepatitis B in the event that they’re between the ages of 1 and 5. So kids are extra weak to this virus and may’t clear the an infection. However if you’re speaking a couple of new child, an toddler, 90% of newborns who grow to be contaminated, they usually’ll grow to be contaminated throughout supply, will go on to develop continual an infection, they will not be capable of clear the hepatitis B, and about 25% of them will die from sequelae of that an infection, both from liver illness, cirrhosis or from liver most cancers. So now we have this distinctive alternative by giving this start dose and the following inoculations to just about get rid of the possibility {that a} new child can contract Hepatitis B and go on to develop continual an infection, it is nearly 99% efficient at stopping that continual an infection. And the chorus is.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And–
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: And one last level, the chorus is, oh, sorry, please.
MARGARET BRENNAN: No, no. And this choice now’s to attend two months earlier than giving that dose.
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Proper.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The President of the US got here out and stated, this was excellent, as a result of Hep B is just transmitted sexually or via soiled needles.
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Yeah, look, that is the issue. That is merely not true. The actual fact is, there is a chorus that should you simply take a look at the mothers throughout, whereas they’re pregnant, you possibly can detect whether or not they have hepatitis B, and if they’ve hepatitis B, you proceed to present that start dose. However the actuality is, many mothers do not get examined, regardless that they intend to, many instances, these take a look at outcomes aren’t checked, and the assessments themselves have a false destructive charge, which means they’ll say you do not have hepatitis B, when in reality, you do, of about 2 %. That won’t sound like quite a bit, however that 2% goes to translate into a minimum of 1000 infants being born and getting contaminated with hepatitis B. There was one modeling estimate that estimated within the first 12 months of this new steering, there’s going to be 1,400 kids, infants contracting hepatitis B, and once more, 25% of them will die from that an infection.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Properly, we have a look at this as a result of there’s this broader scrutiny of vaccines proper now by the Trump administration and on this board choice, which the general public may hear into. It was publicly broadcast. The board was hand picked by RFK Jr, who’s a skeptic right here of vaccines, from those that voted towards the choice to delay. One in all them who you heard on the high of the present stated the CDC is doing hurt. One other stated, “No rational science has been offered, and the committee should settle for duty when hurt is precipitated.” These are fairly extraordinary statements. If the group making a choice that has such excessive penalties for probably the most weak Individuals is not basing it on science, no rational science, what does that point out about what comes subsequent?
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Properly, look, that is the ACIP by and huge, apart from a handful of members, are anti-vax activists who have been put there to hold out a selected agenda. And look, the Secretary, to his credit score, has been very sincere about what his intentions are right here. He is probably the most distinguished anti-vaxer within the nation previous to coming into this place, and he acknowledged that his aim is to get rid of childhood immunization, or many of those childhood immunizations, and I feel they’ll take a methodical method and slowly chip away at this. This can be a huge unforced error insofar as ACIP was a esteemed physique that quite a lot of states tie their very own choice making to, and what we’re seeing proper now’s as a bunch, it is being degraded, and I do not suppose it is going to ever be restored. I do not suppose you possibly can simply flip the swap and restore this the place individuals are going to all of a sudden respect its choices once more. There’s about 600 state legal guidelines that have been tied to choices ACIP made. About 17 states have already handed new laws saying they are going to not respect the choices of ACIP. The insurers got here out and stated they’ll tie their very own protection choices to the skilled our bodies just like the American Academy of Pediatrics and never ACIP. So I feel in time, ACIP goes to be absolutely degraded as a choice making physique, and it should be extra symbolic. There can be sure states that- that adhere to it, however can be extra symbolic.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So that you this week, we noticed an enormous dump in biotech shares following these stories that the FDA, which you used to run the primary a part of the Trump administration, is now going to require one examine to clinch approval of vaccines. You have been one of many former commissioners who put out this actually extraordinary editorial within the New England Journal of Medication, arguing that the FDA and high vaccine regulator, Dr. Vinay Prasad, are altering insurance policies in a means that is going to decelerate new and higher vaccines. What particularly is the issue you see? As a result of this is not simply hep B, that is the vaccines of the longer term. You are saying simply will not be created?
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Proper. So Vinay Prasad, who’s the pinnacle of the biologic middle. Additionally oversees the vaccine Division. He additionally has been appointed the pinnacle of biostatistics, the Chief Medical Officer of the company, and chief scientific officer. So he occupies quite a lot of positions. Put out a memo saying that they’ll put off, or transfer away from, what they name immuno bridging research. These are research that permit you for properly validated vaccines, just like the flu vaccine, to have the ability to show annually that the vaccine, the brand new vaccine, that is formulated towards the circulating pressure, can elicit antibodies which might be efficient towards that specific pressure, and that could possibly be the premise of approval, slightly than requiring new consequence research yearly to show that the vaccine truly reduces the incidence of influenza. For established vaccines, the place we all know that antibody manufacturing is an effective correlate for immunity, this has been an extended standing observe. It is, we do it for flu vaccine, we do it in covid Actually, we do it for issues like pneumococcal vaccine, the vaccine for pneumococcal illness, the place we have a look at serotypes circulating bacterial serotypes. This enables us to replace vaccines as these viral and bacterial strains change, and because the composition of the strains change in time to offer safety for the Fall respiratory season. In the event that they transfer away from this, which is what he stated, they plan to do, we’re simply not going to have the ability to replace vaccines every season, as we have accomplished traditionally, to accommodate regardless of the circulating pressure is.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And 12 former FDA commissioners got here out saying they’re deeply involved about what is occurring. That memo that made clear the adjustments which might be occurring throughout the FDA from Dr. Prasad was obtained by CBS, and it claimed that profession FDA employees are making adjustments partially as a result of they discovered a minimum of 10 kids have died after and due to receiving the Covid vaccine, referred to it as a profound revelation, and stated and requested, Did it kill extra wholesome youngsters than it saved? The administration, so far, has not backed up info to again up these claims, however, however, what questions do you could have for the FDA commissioner, as a result of they’re arguing they’re doing this to assist folks?
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Yeah, look, properly, initially, one factor does not circulation from the subsequent. So the thought if, in reality, they discovered circumstances the place the covid vaccine was linked to tragic deaths, it does not then observe that you simply make these coverage adjustments. In actual fact, the coverage adjustments would not deal with what the considerations are associated to the covid vaccine itself. These are- each case must be rigorously adjudicated. It is tragic to see any suspected case that could possibly be linked to a vaccine. And these have been checked out beforehand by the FDA, and I do not consider that the brand new FDA had entry to the case degree knowledge evaluation of circumstances, particular person circumstances that get filed with the company the place there’s a demise in proximity to vaccination, and a few of these are filed by the producers themselves are very subjective and require the goodwill the folks concerned in that. And so I feel that they need to make that evaluation public so it could possibly be scrutinized and folks can get consolation in that they’ve already backed away from the ten is reporting from endpoints that now they’re saying it is eight or 9, in order that they’re already backing away from it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. And HHS stated they are going to ultimately make that knowledge public. We’ll search for it when it comes out. Dr Gottlieb, thanks in your evaluation right now. We’ll be again in a second.
