Former top health official Dr. Peter Marks has criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for downplaying the deaths of unvaccinated children from measles, calling it “not acceptable” to dismiss such cases as minor. Marks said Kennedy’s comparison between US and European measles case numbers is misleading due to the varying public health efforts in each region.
Marks, who recently resigned from the FDA after being ousted by Kennedy’s aides, warned that vaccine hesitancy is becoming increasingly challenging in the federal government. He praised the remaining staff at the agency as “heroes in public health” struggling to prioritize inspections and investigate outbreaks.
Kennedy has been criticized for promoting unfounded claims about vaccines causing autism and other diseases. Marks described the work of Dr. Mark Geier, who was tasked by Kennedy to revisit a past CDC study on vaccines and autism, as “pseudoscience” that does a disservice to actual scientific research.
Marks’ criticism comes amid a record-breaking measles outbreak in the US, with three deaths linked to the virus this year, including two unvaccinated children. The FDA has undergone significant changes under Kennedy’s leadership, including steep layoffs and forced resignations, which Marks described as “challenging” for public health officials.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/peter-marks-fda-vaccines-criticizes-rfk-jr-for-downplaying-measles-deaths