The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began transitioning to standard operations for domestic inspections on July 1 while continuing to prioritize mission-critical work for foreign inspections. The agency's base-case scenario, anticipated and outlined in the “Resiliency Roadmap for FDA Inspectional Oversight” report, was released by the agency in May 2021. This report highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its inspectional activities, including plans for a transition back to a more consistent state of operations.
Over the past year, FDA continued conducting mission critical inspections in the U.S. and around the world to assure the safety of the country’s medical products and food supply. However, this is an important step forward in the return to a normal routine for the agency's inspectional responsibilities, which FDA can safely transition to based on the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and COVID-19 testing. While protecting the health and safety of all Americans is important, the agency will not put FDA employees at risk or those at the facilities it inspects. Keeping everyone safe is FDA's priority and normalizing its operations will help fulfill its public health mission.