President Joe Biden said he is nominating Dr Robert Califf to head the Food and Drug Administration, reports The Herald.

Califf, 70, is a cardiologist and clinical trial specialist who served as FDA commissioner for the last 11 months of President Barack Obama's second term. Before that, he spent a year as the agency's No. 2 official after more than 35 years as a researcher at Duke University, where he helped develop trials for many of the world's largest drug companies. Califf faced some concerns in 2016 over his ties to the pharmaceutical industry but was eventually confirmed by an overwhelming 89-4 vote in the Senate, the report said.
“As the FDA considers many consequential decisions around vaccine approvals and more, it is mission critical that we have a steady, independent hand to guide the FDA,” Biden said in a statement announcing his decision.
If confirmed by the Senate, Califf would oversee decisions on COVID-19 vaccines along with a raft of other tricky issues, including the regulation of electronic cigarettes and effectiveness standards for prescription drugs. He would be the first FDA commissioner since the 1940s to return for a second term leading the agency.