Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s leading vaccine expert, abruptly resigned citing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s aggressive and misleading stance on vaccines as a threat to public health.
“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,” Dr. Marks wrote in a resignation letter addressed to acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner.
Dr. Marks was forced to step down after being given an ultimatum by a Department of Health and Human Services official: resign or be fired.
The resignation followed a series of controversial remarks by Kennedy earlier that day in West Virginia, where he claimed Covid-19 “did not kill healthy people”—a statement contradicted by data showing that around 30% of early pandemic deaths occurred in individuals without underlying conditions.
Kennedy has also raised concerns for promoting vitamin A as a treatment during a recent measles outbreak in Texas, while minimizing the proven effectiveness of vaccines. Just a day before Dr. Marks’ departure, Kennedy announced the creation of a new federal office dedicated to investigating vaccine injuries.
The resignation underscores growing tensions within federal health agencies as scientific leaders push back against politically driven misinformation.
Source