Marty Makary, a pancreatic surgeon known for his opposition to vaccine mandates during the pandemic, has been appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to serve under Robert F. Kennedy as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner. In a statement on Truth Social, Trump expressed that the FDA had “lost the trust of Americans” and emphasized the need for Makary to “course-correct and refocus” the agency. Makary will work under Kennedy, who was recently nominated by Trump to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Together, Makary and Kennedy will “evaluate harmful chemicals in our nation’s food supply and drugs and biologics administered to our youth,” while also addressing the “childhood chronic disease epidemic,” according to Trump. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Makary advocated for natural immunity—gaining immunity through infection—and argued it was “at least” as effective as vaccine-induced immunity. He predicted the U.S. would achieve herd immunity by April 2021. Makary also claimed that the Covid-19 vaccine increased the risk of myocarditis, a rare heart condition, though this has been disproven by several studies and is considered a rare occurrence by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In a recent interview with Fox News, Makary defended Kennedy’s nomination to lead HHS, stating that Kennedy is the least “scary” aspect of the U.S. health care system. He added that Kennedy aims to “address corruption in health care and government health agencies.”