David Kessler, head of Biden's Covid vaccine effort, resigns

Dr. David A. Kessler took over Operation Warp Speed ​​when President Biden took office, and his departure signals the end of the program.

WASHINGTON — Dr. David A. Kessler, who for the past two years has been the behind-the-scenes force behind a broad federal effort to develop and distribute coronavirus vaccines and treatments, is leaving the Biden administration – another sign that the pandemic is no longer the focus of the White House.

As scientific director of the administration's response to Covid-19, Dr. Kessler, 71, operated largely invisible to the public. But his work – on issues such as setting up mass vaccination sites, promoting the development of antiviral drugs, and distributing reformulated boosters – has touched the lives of millions of Americans.

"Six hundred and sixty-five million vaccines, 13 million antivirals," Dr. Kessler said in a brief interview on Friday, referring to the number of doses Americans have taken since December 2020, shortly before President Biden takes office. "We did what we wanted to do."

Yet millions of Americans are still unvaccinated and the public has been slow to get the new doses reminder. When asked in an interview last summer if he was frustrated by vaccine hesitancy, Dr. Kessler instead talked about mass vaccination sites, his efforts to distribute vaccines to pharmacies and nursing homes. , and his work to make them accessible to children.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">"Our job was to make safe and effective vaccines accessible," he said then, " and making sure everyone could have it, and it was easy."

Dr. Kessler's departure marks the end of Operation Warp Speed, launched by the Trump administration to develop and distribute vaccines against the coronavirus. Although the Biden administration dropped the name, the program's mission under Dr. Kessler has remained the same. Now the Biden administration is working to move Covid vaccination from a government-run effort to one that will be managed by the private sector.

In In his role, Dr. Kessler was responsible for negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to ensure that vaccines were available to anyone who wanted one – at a price to the government that was far below what the companies want to charge on the commercial market in the future.

On Capitol Hill, some lawmakers are already gearing up for battles with corporations. Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who has twice sought the Democratic presidential nomination, sent a letter to vaccine maker Moderna this week, warning its chief executive: "Now is not the time for unacceptable corporate greed."

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">It seems unlikely that the Biden administration will replace Dr. Kessler. Officials say the Department of Health and Human Services has other doctors, scientists and public health officials with expertise who will work with the White House and private industry on vaccine research and development. /p>

Dr. Kessler hoped to build a more permanent infrastructure for vaccine development and manufacturing. In late 2021, the administration announced a plan, authored by Dr. Kessler, to invest billions of dollars to expand vaccine manufacturing capacity by partnering with industry to prepare for future pandemics.

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