Top FDA Vaccine Official Resigns, Slams RFK Jr. For 'Misinformation And Lies'

Dr. Peter Marks, the top vaccine regulator at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has announced his resignation, citing frustration over the growing influence of vaccine misinformation under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Marks, who has overseen the FDA's vaccine division for nearly a decade, played a key role in approving COVID-19 vaccines and other immunization efforts. In his resignation letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Marks criticized RFK Jr. for spreading "misinformation and lies" about vaccines, which he says have undermined public health and trust in the FDA.

"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 wrote.

Sources familiar with his departure say he privately expressed concern that the Biden administration's decision to appoint RFK Jr. to HHS had legitimized anti-vaccine rhetoric at the highest levels of government. A former FDA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated Marks was given the choice to resign or for Kennedy to fire him.

Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has downplayed concerns about his views, arguing that Americans should have the freedom to make their own medical choices. His appointment to lead HHS has sparked significant controversy, particularly among scientists and public health officials.

A measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico has intensified scrutiny around Kennedy's approach to public health and was addressed in Marks' resignation. "The ongoing multistate measles outbreak that is particularly severe in Texas reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined," he wrote.

Marks is expected to leave his post later this year. His departure marks another shake-up in the FDA at a time when the agency is navigating major policy shifts under the Trump administration.

Originally published on Latin Times

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Vaccinations, Vaccine, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, Resignation