Dr. Leana Wen has a couple of big concerns right now.

The former Baltimore City health commissioner became a prominent medical analyst on TV during the coronavirus pandemic, serving as a trusted source while the nation navigated COVID-19.

She thinks some lessons of the past aren’t being heeded during the bird flu in the remaining days of President Joe Biden’s administration. Wen said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” she and other medical professionals are also concerned about President-elect Donald Trump picking Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. However, she seemed to approve of Trump’s local nominee, Dr. Marty Makary, to lead the Food and Drug Administration.

“I think that there are some people coming into this administration who are very competent,” Wen said. “For example, Dr. Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon. We have worked together for the last 10-plus years … He’s an independent thinker who really listens to science and is willing to change his mind when there is new evidence that emerges. But I have a lot of concern … about Robert F. Kennedy.”

Kennedy is seen as an anti-vaccine advocate, though he has said he’s not. Shortly after being nominated to lead the health department, he said he wouldn’t “take away anybody’s vaccines.” “If vaccines are working for somebody, I’m not going to take them away,” he told NBC News. “People ought to have choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information.”

The HHS nominee told NBC News he would ensure scientific safety studies are available so people could decide whether a product is good for them.

“Kennedy has espoused many views in the past that are anti-vaccine,” Wen said Sunday on CBS. “In fact, he’s been one of the leading anti-vaccine advocates in the country, if not the world, over the last couple of decades. He’s also someone who has made his career from being an activist and not a scientist.”

Wen emphasized Sunday on “Face the Nation” that “it’s a fact” that childhood vaccines are safe and life-saving.

The debates ignited around Kennedy’s crusade on vaccines, seed oils and more are a reminder of the importance of evidence-based decisions, according to Wen.

That’s especially true with a potential bird flu outbreak. Wen said the Biden administration should move forward on bird flu vaccinations and testing, which she said could help prevent another multiyear pandemic like the world has seen with the coronavirus.

“I don’t want to wait for the Trump administration to potentially hold up the vaccines, saying that they want more evidence,” Wen said.

“Look, evidence is always good, and facts are always good … research is always good, but you always have to weigh that against a potential catastrophe, as we could be having for bird flu the way that we had for COVID,” she added.

The bird flu was identified in a Louisiana patient last week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That person was hospitalized in critical condition with severe respiratory problems after coming in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock, according to the Associated Press.

The virus has caused mostly mild illnesses in people in the U.S., and the risk to the general public remains low, according to the CDC. Nearly all infected work on dairy or poultry farms, and Wen said testing should be increased for those workers.

“There’s no reason why we should hold off on getting more testing. We need to know how much bird flu there is out there … And I think it’s a major problem that in the U.S., we have been holding back on testing and also holding back on getting the vaccines deployed that are already developed.”

Have a news tip? Contact politics editor Candy Woodall at cwoodall@baltsun.com.