Tracy Beth Høeg, M.D., Ph.D., an epidemiologist and sports physician who supported studying — and reducing — the recommended childhood vaccination schedule, was fired by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Høeg was acting director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER).
In a post on X last Friday, Høeg wrote that she “learned so much” and is leaving the FDA “with no regrets.”
And in an interview with MD Reports published shortly after her firing, Høeg said she first learned about the agency’s plans to fire her earlier in the week, through media reports.
On May 15, two unnamed FDA officials offered her the choice to resign or be fired. When she refused to resign, she was fired on the spot.
“I said I didn’t want to resign,” Høeg told MD Reports. “I said I’m not signing a letter of resignation if it’s not my choice.”
During her time at the FDA, Høeg was involved in several research initiatives broadly tied to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda. According to The New York Times, this included work on an “intense investigation” last year that linked the COVID-19 vaccines to “at least” 10 child deaths.
Høeg also authored a report recommending that the number of diseases covered by the recommended childhood vaccination schedule be reduced from 17 to 11.
In January, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. implemented these recommendations. However, in March, a federal court issued a stay pausing adoption of the new schedule.
According to The Associated Press, Høeg was most recently involved in the FDA’s review of a petition to add new warnings to antidepressants about risks to pregnant women, “including fetal abnormalities that could lead to autism and other disorders.”
Hellbound and Down 