As Covid-19 pressures mount, Stephen Hahn struggles to protect an agency under siege 

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, who has been at the job since December, has little institutional knowledge on the agency he's leading through the pandemic, leaving experts concerned about the FDA's role. On Sunday, for instance, Hahn shared nonsensical statistics about convalescent plasma therapy for Covid-19 patients, which the agency has now authorized on an emergency basis, going so far as to falsely state that the treatment could save 35 out of every 100 Covid-19 patients (there are no data to support this claim). This was quickly met with backlash, including that the regulatory agency wasn't retaining independence from political pressure. Last night, Hahn admitted criticism about his remarks were justified, indicating he should more accurately stated the benefits of plasma therapy. He also said that, "We at FDA do not permit politics to enter into our scientific decisions," he said, that the agency will remain "data driven," and that he wanted to "reassure the American public about this commitment."