FDA’s top vaccine official resigns citing RFK’s ‘misinformation and lies’

• The FDA’s top vaccine official submitted a resignation letter Friday, announcing his plans to step down from his role by April 5. In the letter, Dr. Peter Marks cited an inability to work with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccines.
• Kennedy did tout the importance of vaccines earlier this month amid an ongoing measles outbreak, though he stopped short of fully endorsing them.
• Marks served during the first Trump administration, during which he helped guide “Operation Warp Speed,” an initiative that expedited the development and manufacturing of a COVID-19 vaccine.

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The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) top vaccine official submitted his resignation letter Friday, March 28, citing an inability to work with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who heads the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Dr. Peter Marks will step down as leader of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research by April 5, according to the letter submitted to acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner and obtained by The Associated Press.

Marks wrote in his letter that he was “willing to work” with Kennedy on allaying concerns the HHS secretary holds about vaccines. However, he ultimately concluded that “truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

According to a former FDA official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, Marks had been given the option to resign or be fired by Kennedy.

Kennedy’s recent record on vaccines

Despite building a career out of questioning the safety and efficacy of vaccines, Kennedy said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would adhere to longstanding government recommendations guiding vaccine use.  

More recently, amid an ongoing measles outbreak that has spread to four states and sickened more than 370 people, Kennedy did tout the importance of vaccines in a Fox News opinion piece. However, he stopped short of fully endorsing them and stressed that vaccines are a personal choice.

“Vaccines not only protect children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” Kennedy wrote, adding that “the decision to vaccinate is a personal one” and “good nutrition remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses.”

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which falls under Kennedy’s HHS, announced plans to study a potential link between vaccines and autism –– a link that has been roundly debunked by a majority of the scientific community.

Kennedy’s messaging on measles wasn’t enough to convince Marks, as the top vaccine official wrote in his letter that “efforts currently being advanced by some on the adverse health effects of vaccination are concerning.” He also raised concerns about the “unprecedented assault on scientific truth that has adversely impacted public health in our nation.”

HHS did not respond to the AP’s request for comment. Marks could not be reached for comment.   

Dr. Marks and ‘Operation Warp Speed’

Marks served during Donald Trump’s first presidency and helped guide the administration’s “Operation Warp Speed,” an expedited rollout of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the AP, Marks is credited with coining the initiative’s name and concept.

The future of HHS

As the Trump administration continues to downsize the federal government, Kennedy announced Thursday, March 27, that his agency would be cutting some 20,000 jobs, while consolidating 28 divisions into 15.

“We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said in a statement.