Biden administration vaccine drive leader David Kessler to step down

(Reuters) – David Kessler, who led the COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts for the United States, is stepping down from President Joe Biden’s administration, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Friday.

Kessler, a pediatrician and lawyer who headed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, will return to teaching at the University of California, San Francisco, the New York Times reported earlier.

Kessler could not be immediately reached for comment.

The 71-year-old’s departure reflects the changing strategy of the Biden administration to shift COVID-19 vaccines to the commercial market from a government-run effort. The former FDA commissioner was chosen to help lead the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program Operation Warp Speed in January 2021.

As head of the FDA, Kessler cut the time needed to approve drugs to treat AIDS and moved to try to regulate the tobacco industry. He also served as a co-chair of Biden’s advisory board on the pandemic.

(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)