Fact check: Posts falsely link Fauci's wife to FDA vaccine approval and testing

McKenzie Sadeghi, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Dr. Anthony Fauci’s wife is involved with the FDA’s vaccine testing and approval

Some people are attempting to link the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Dr. Anthony Fauci’s wife, Christine Grady, the chief of bioethics and human subjects research at the National Institutes of Health.

The post follows a similar claim that circulated in May, in which users inaccurately asserted Fauci’s wife issued emergency use authorizations for coronavirus vaccines.

“The FDA doesn’t do the testing to approve vaccines,” reads an Aug. 26 Facebook post with more than 400 shares. “The NIH does So who is the Chief of the Department of Bioethics at NIH?”

Below the text is a screenshot of a Google search result for Grady, showing her birthdate, education, occupation and spouse, which is highlighted in yellow.

In recent days, other users on Facebook have shared similar versions of the claim that have racked up hundreds of shares. But the posts are wrong. Grady is not involved with the FDA’s vaccine testing and approval.

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The Facebook users who shared the post did not return a request for comment.

Vaccines are approved by the FDA

The FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research is responsible for approving vaccines, not Fauci's wife.

The center's director, Dr. Peter Marks, said FDA staff worked "night and day" to review the 340,000-page license application for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which was completed in 97 days.

“FDA-approved vaccines undergo the agency’s standard process for reviewing the quality, safety and effectiveness of medical products,” reads an Aug. 23 statement from the agency. “For all vaccines, the FDA evaluates data and information included in the manufacturer’s submission of a biologics license application.”

The FDA ensures the safety and effectiveness of medical and other products, while the NIH supports and conducts biomedical and behavioral research, according to the FDA.

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Grady not involved with approval, testing

Meanwhile, Grady is a nurse-bioethicist who has lectured on ethical issues in clinical research and care, HIV disease and nursing, according to her bio on the NIH’s website. It makes no mention of her being involved with vaccine approval or testing.

"Dr. Grady does not approve the conduct of any research protocol, and she has no input into the FDA process for issuing EUAs (emergency use authorizations)," the NIH told the Associated Press in May.

Per Elle Magazine, Grady identifies, researches and writes about ethical issues related to coronavirus vaccines, resource allocation and the safety of medical workers amid the pandemic.

She oversees a team of 30 NIH bioethicists and research fellows, consults with scientists and conducts her own research on COVID-19, the outlet reported.

USA TODAY reached out to the NIH for additional comment.

Fact check: FDA has fully approved Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Fauci’s wife is involved with the FDA’s vaccine testing and approval. Grady teaches medical ethics and is the chief of bioethics at the NIH. She has no role in approving vaccines, which is done within the FDA.

Our fact-check sources:

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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Fauci's wife has no role in COVID-19 vaccine approval