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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has removed two senior public relations employees, one of whom advised the agency against unbridled promotion of convalescent blood plasma as a treatment for people with COVID-19, multiple media outlets reported today.
Officials claim the dismissals are coincidental and are not related to a controversy about whether claims regarding convalescent plasma therapy that were put forth by President Donald Trump and FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, MD, were exaggerated, according to reports from The New York Times , CNN, and elsewhere.
One of the PR employees, Emily Miller, was on the job less than 2 weeks. The White House named her FDA chief spokeswoman 11 days ago, but Hahn removed her from that post today.
Yesterday, the US Department of Health and Human Services terminated the contract for Wayne L. Pines, a PR consultant to the FDA. Pines reportedly advised Hahn to apologize for making misleading claims about the therapeutic benefits of convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19.
The FDA did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Dr Stephen Hahn
The controversy stems from comments Hahn made about the announcement of the emergency use authorization
