A senior US official is seen as a guardrail against the future politicization of the Food and Drug Administration’s life-saving vaccine approval, and suddenly resigned, citing “misinformation and lies” by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Dr. Peter Marks served as the FDA’s top vaccine authorities. He was praised by Donald Trump in his first term as the US president for his role in Operation Warp Speed, an initiative that developed, manufactured and supported the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
Several media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, reported later Friday that Marks was given the option of being resigned or fired by officials in the Health and Human Services (HHS) department. He chose to resign. The FDA is a key federal agency within the HHS.
In his resignation letter referring to Kennedy, Marks wrote: “It has become clear that truth and transparency are not wanted by the secretary, but rather wants a subordinate confirmation and lie of his misinformation.”
According to the media outlet that obtained the letter, Marks also said, “It is irresponsible to undermine confidence in an established vaccine that has met the high standards of quality, safety and effectiveness that have been implemented in the FDA for decades, and is harmful to public health, and our nation’s health, safety, safety, safety, and safety, and safety, and safety, and safety, and safety, and our nation’s health, safety, safety, and safety.
The departure follows reports that Kennedy turned to prominent vaccine skeptic David Geier to lead the HHS in researching the potential link between vaccines and autism. The link between autism and vaccines has been exposed for a long time.
Kennedy has insisted that he is not an anti-vaccine, but for years he has led a move to question their safety and efficacy. In 2021, a group led by Kennedy subsequently called for revoking emergency approval for the Covid-19 vaccine, saying “the current risk of serious adverse events or death outweighs benefits.”
A study later showed that the claims were inaccurate. A Commonwealth Fund survey found that the Covid-19 vaccine saved 3.2 million American lives and prevented more than 18 million hospitalizations until November 2022.
During his confirmation process, Kennedy ultimately secured votes for almost every Republican senator, including Dr. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and promised not to change the FDA’s system to approve the vaccine.
However, the system was overseen by Marks, who has been involved with the FDA since 2012 and oversees the approval process for the vaccine, biotechnology and blood products divisions.
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The Wall Street Journal has reported a statement regarding the resignation of an HHS official. “If Peter Marks doesn’t want to restore science to that golden standard and promote radical transparency, he is not in the FDA under Secretary Kennedy’s strong leadership.”
Marks’ departure is the day after the Trump administration said it had fired 10,000 employees at HHS. In comments about the move posted to YouTube, Kennedy suggested that his office was facing in-depth opposition from “rebellious bureaucrats” who had been blocking access to “closely guarded databases” that could reveal the dangers of certain drugs and medical interventions.
The Guardian is seeking more information about Kennedy’s remarks, but has yet to receive a comment from HHS. Some experts have warned that Kennedy and other senior Trump-appointed health officials may try to challenge the approvals behind the Covid-19 vaccine. Kennedy also said at his confirmation hearing that Trump had asked him to study the safety of Mifepristone, which he was used for medication abortion and is already extensively being investigated for safety.
The exact database that Kennedy mentioned in his YouTube statement is not clear. When a drug company seeks FDA approval for a drug developed by a pharmaceutical company, it discloses its own information that it keeps secret. This includes information on manufacturing methods and clinical research reports.
