The head of the FDA's Vaccine Center is Caslow, who was previously the head of vaccines for Merck.
Posted by The Joe Rogan Experience, Checked
- Sources
- 1 contradict2 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Joe Rogan ExperienceNov 6, 2026
As of 2026-11-06, the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), the vaccine center, was led by Karim Mikhail, a former Merck official, per STAT's September 2026 report.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… And Marty was fired. Heidi drove the jamming through of a re-review, where they set up a sham advisory committee of, you know, run by this guy, the head of the Vaccine Center, Caslow, was the head of vaccines for Merck. He has a license plate that says Vaccinate, wears an N95 this is his license plate so he led vaccines for Merck, his license plate says Vaccinate, and he has an N95 mask. Wait a minute, he wears an N95, yeah, mask, all the time, every day. …
The Joe Rogan Experience · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. STAT News (Sept 2026) reports that former Merck official Karim Mikhail was made permanent director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the FDA's vaccine center, which contradicts the claim that Caslow/Kaslow heads it.[3]
Supports. Kaslow was previously VP of vaccines and infectious diseases at Merck Research Laboratories, which supports the Merck-background element of the claim.[4][5]
Context. An FDA primary document dated 2026-11-06 lists David Kaslow as Director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review, a office within CBER rather than the center itself.[2]
Context. The Lead Stories fact-check and other results concern unrelated claims about FDA leadership and COVID vaccine statements and do not address who heads the vaccine center.[1]
Sources
5 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 3 not rated
- 1Fact Check: No 'FDA Chief' Called For Immediate End To COVID Vaccines -- Fake 'Millions Are Dropping Dead' Quote Used | Lead Storiesleadstories.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Director Peter W. Marks, MD, Ph.D.fda.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 3FDA names permanent leaders for CDER, CBER - STAT Newsstatnews.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 4FDA hires new vaccine director as fall ‘booster-for-all’ campaign rolls outmmm-online.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5PATH’s Kaslow to succeed Marks as head of vaccines at FDAbiocentury.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
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