Dr. Hahn on COVID-19 - Finding Solutions, Applying Lessons Learned

Dear Colleague, As our health care providers and essential personnel work on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, we want you to know we are here to help you through this critical time. We recognize your concerns about protecting the safety of your patients, yourselves, and your communities. Below are the latest recorded remarks given by Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn on the COVID-19 Pandemic. Speech - Remarks by Commissioner Stephen Hahn, M.D. The COVID-19 Pandemic — Finding Solutions, Applying Lessons Learned

"One of the most frustrating challenges each of us can face is the inability to control the events that affect our lives.  Often, we are thrust into situations not of our own making.  It’s no surprise that one of the most familiar adages concerns the best laid plans of mice and men going awry. And yet, to borrow another often-used saying, necessity is the mother of invention.  History teaches us that crises often lead to accelerated change and innovations and new discoveries.

This dynamic has been on my mind a great deal recently.  It wasn’t too long ago – last December, to be exact -- that I had the distinction of being confirmed as the 24th Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.  This is the greatest honor of my life.  I have long cherished the critical role the FDA plays in protecting and promoting the public health, and I’ve relied on the Agency’s expertise throughout my professional life." View YouTube Video (Remarks as prepared for delivery. The text and video of this speech are slightly, though not substantively different from the version presented by Dr. Hahn on June 1 to the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, via audio broadcast only.)