Vaccine skeptics suspect the preservative of causing autism, despite numerous studies showing the compound to be harmless. “They criticized expedited drug reviews for years, especially with respect to Covid vaccines, saying that it turned the F.D.A. But now they want to do the exact same thing for as many other drugs as possible.”Reports from inside the agency remained bleak. As expected — and perhaps as intended — many of the F.D.A.’s remaining employees were now looking for jobs outside the government. “The F.D.A.