Dr. Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon tapped by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as FDA commissioner, is waging a battle against what he sees as flawed COVID-19 vaccine policies.

His blunt critique, aired in a tense CBS face-off with Margaret Brennan, has thrust him into the spotlight as a champion of evidence over dogma.

With RFK Jr. leading HHS, Makary’s push for transparency in vaccine recommendations is shaking up public health debates, especially around boosters for kids and the role of natural immunity.

“I’m pro-vaccine, but we’re not going to push COVID shots on healthy kids without any clinical trial data supporting it,” Makary told Brennan.

He’s taken aim at the CDC’s blanket call for annual boosters, arguing there’s no solid backing for vaccinating young, healthy people yearly.

“It’s been four to five years since we’ve had a proper study,” he said on Fox News in 2023.

“They’re recommending it based on nothing.”

His stance stems from a lack of recent trials and concerns over myocarditis, a rare heart inflammation linked to mRNA vaccines, particularly in young men.

“We saw an explosion of myocarditis cases in young males after the mandates,” he said on CBS, citing a 2021 Israeli study showing a myocarditis rate of 11 per 100,000 in males aged 16-29 after their second dose.

A 2022 paper he co-authored warned that booster mandates for young adults could do more harm than good. “We can’t ignore this,” he said.

Makary’s appointment by RFK Jr., a vocal vaccine skeptic, has raised eyebrows. Critics worry his alignment with Kennedy could politicize the FDA.

“He’s got a reputation for evidence and transparency, but will he defend the FDA’s integrity?” asked Dr. Reshma Ramachandran of Yale.

Dr. Aaron Kesselheim of Harvard defends early vaccine policies, saying, “People were doing the best with evolving information.”

But supporters see Makary as a breath of fresh air. “He’s saying what we’ve known for years,” said Lisa Carter, a Baltimore nurse.

“They push these shots like it’s gospel, but where’s the proof?”

Beyond boosters, Makary’s hammered the government’s dismissal of natural immunity.

“The greatest perpetrator of misinformation has been the U.S. government,” he told Fox News, accusing agencies of downplaying prior infection’s protective power.

He’s leaned on a 2021 Israeli study showing natural immunity is 27 times more effective than vaccinated immunity against symptomatic COVID.

“If you’ve had the infection, you should be stepping aside in the vaccine line,” he said in 2021, a view that stirred controversy but has gained traction as reinfections trend milder.

As FDA chief, Makary’s already flexing his muscle. In May 2025, he and CBER Director Vinay Prasad announced in The New England Journal of Medicine that COVID vaccines would be limited to those over 65 or at high risk until stronger data justifies wider use.

“We’re not going to blindly rubber-stamp vaccines for teenagers every year in perpetuity,” he told Fox News.

This move, backed by RFK Jr.’s HHS, signals a shift toward scrutinizing vaccine policies more closely.

Makary’s also pushing to reform the revolving door between Big Pharma and government, a priority he shares with Kennedy.

“We’re going to be a department that’s focused on science, not industry influence,” Kennedy said when announcing Makary’s nomination.

Makary’s fight isn’t just about vaccines—it’s about trust. “We need transparency, not mandates,” he said. With RFK Jr. at his side, he’s challenging a system he believes has lost its way, demanding data over doctrine in a debate that’s far from settled.