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The Food and Drug Administration’s chief vaccine regulator has been pushed out of the agency, in what could be a troubling sign of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to advance his anti-vaccine agenda throughout the Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Peter Marks, who oversaw the FDA’s vaccine division as director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, submitted his resignation to acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner on Friday. In his letter to Brenner, which The New York Times published in full, Marks strongly criticized Kennedy for promoting “misinformation and lies” in his claims regarding vaccine safety:
‘As you are aware, I was willing to work to address the Secretary’s concerns regarding vaccine safety and transparency by hearing from the public and implementing a variety of different public meetings and engagements with the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,’ Marks wrote. ‘However, it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.’
Marks was forced out of his position, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News. According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news of his resignation, a HHS official gave Marks the choice to resign or be fired, per people familiar with the matter.
Marks’ resignation will take effect on April 5.
In his letter, Marks expressed concern about the current measles outbreak in the U.S., saying it “reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined.”
Officials have recorded more than 520 cases of measles across 20 states since the start of the year, most of which are in Texas. Two people have died so far, including a 6-year-old girl who was unvaccinated.
Kennedy has tepidly encouraged people to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, while asserting without evidence that the vaccine causes deaths every year. He has promoted unproven remedies like cod liver oil and steroids to treat measles and baselessly claimed that a measles infection could protect against cancer and heart disease.
Marks’ departure from the FDA and his explicit criticism of Kennedy suggest the extent to which the secretary is pushing his anti-vaccine agenda from his perch as health secretary.
In a portion of his letter that does not name Kennedy, Marks addressed the efforts to diminish public confidence in vaccines, calling such messages “irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety and security.”