Who is Dr Marty Makary
And why you will like him (hopefully)
Who is Marty Makary?
For some of you, the name Marty Makary is new. You perhaps just heard the name as one of many new selections made by Donald Trump to be appointed to his new administration. In fact, this name could be one that you hear over and over again in the coming years … assuming he gets approved.
Others of you, who have been deeper into the weeds of the “Covid Follies” may be already somewhat familiar with the name as he was one of the saner voices during this era.
So who is Marty Makary?
Marty Makary is a 54 year old British-American who has been practicing medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. His practice included gastrointestinal diseases and surgical oncology. He also was a member of staff at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Interestingly he has also done some work with the World Health Organization. I wouldn’t let that stint mar his credentials as he is an independent thinker, and his work there revolved around patient safety issues. Like so many organizations, the WHO has done some excellent work. It’s often just leadership and outside forces that try to steer these large influential organizations into malign directions.
An example of Dr. Makary’s work would be his development of the “Surgical Checklist” designed to help standardize procedures that would lead to a reduction in peri-operative and post-operative morbidity and mortality. This project alone has revolutionized safety procedures around the world.
Further, Makary wrote the book: Unaccountable which delves into healthcare reform as does a second book, The Price We Pay. So he is definitely not one to look at current processes uncritically. In fact he is an innovator.
During Covid, Makary was notably one spokesperson (often on Fox News) who commented to the public on the pandemic and who often was critical of recommended public health policies that came from Washington. For example, our leadership in Washington claimed that even if someone has already recovered from Covid, they would still need the “vaccine.” Dr. Makary argued for the effectiveness of natural immunity. Makary also argued against masking our children in schools. He predicted that we would reach herd immunity by April 2021, another controversial call.
Boldly Makary called out ‘experts’ and said that the DC establishment was the “greatest perpetrator of misinformation” surrounding Covid, citing their insistence on surface transmission, their denial of natural immunity and their claiming effectiveness of masking. He also advocated for ‘selective’ vaccination and not universal mandates. He stated that myocarditis was more common after “vaccination” than after the disease itself, which too ran counter to the pushed narrative. He also called the ‘lab-leak theory’ a “no-brainer.”
As you can tell from the above, the man had the guts to come out publicly with narratives that were being suppressed at the time (and often still). Accused (accurately and importantly) of undermining trust in our institutions, he remained undaunted. And that took guts since many were punished for doing the same.
In nominating Dr. Makary to head the FDA, Trump said: “FDA has lost the trust of Americans, and has lost sight of its primary goal as a regulator. The Agency needs Dr. Marty Makary, a highly respected Johns Hopkins Surgical Oncologist and Health Policy Expert, to course-correct and refocus the Agency.” I couldn’t agree more. Makary is a contrarian in an era when contrarian views are deemed seditious.
Dr. Makary has the traits I see as being necessary for the tough road ahead of remaking the FDA into a credible body. He is bold and unafraid. He is innovative in his thinking. He is not allergic to change. And best of all, he was named by the “fact checkers” at Media Matters as the #2 (of 10) most “dishonest” doctors on Fox. That may be the best endorsement of all.
In health,
DocofLastResort