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# David Kessler Taking Over Covid-19 Vaccine Response
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/david-kessler-taking-over-covid-19-vaccine-response/
- Published: 2021-01-15T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T16:42:55.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5148465

Former FDA commissioner **David Kessler** has been selected by the incoming Biden Administration to lead the U.S. Covid-19 vaccination efforts — replacing Operation Warp Speed head [**Moncef Slaoui**](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/13/politics/moncef-slaoui-operation-warp-speed-resigns-biden-administration/index.html?ref=fdaweb.com), who is resigning at the Biden transition team’s request. The Operation Warp Speed moniker is also being changed to “Covid Response,” according to officials. Kessler has been co-chairing president-elect **Joe Biden**’s Transition Covid-19 Advisory Board since shortly after the November election.

Kessler has joined other former commissioners in criticizing the Trump Administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic ([see earlier story](https://www.fdaweb.com/political-intrusion-prolongs-the-pandemic-op-ed/)). Writing in a *Washington Post* op-ed last year, he and six other former FDA commissioners warned that the perception of political influence in FDA’s science-based decisions is a serious concern, saying “political intrusion only prolongs the pandemic and erodes our public health institutions.” The seven said that a Covid-19 vaccine is urgently needed to reduce the virus’ health impacts and help the country return to normalcy. “But a safe and effective vaccine will not be enough,” they wrote. “People will also have to choose to take it. This depends on widespread confidence that the vaccine approval was based on sound science and not politics. If the White House takes the unprecedented step of trying to tip the scales on how safety and benefits will be judged, the impact on public trust will render an effective vaccine much less so.”