US food and drug regulator Dr. Peter Marks has resigned as director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, criticizing the nation’s top health official for allowing “misinformation and lies” to guide his thinking on vaccinations.
Marks, who oversaw the agency’s rapid review and approval of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, said he was willing to work with Dr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccine concerns but could not continue due to the latter’s promotion of “subservient confirmation of misinformation and lies”.
Kennedy has a history of spreading anti-vaccine misinformation, despite previously promising to uphold established vaccine recommendations. The US Department of Health and Human Services declined comment on Marks’ resignation.
Vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit called the resignation a “firing” and warned that allowing Kennedy’s misinformation could undermine public health. Former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said the issues raised in Marks’ resignation letter should be alarming to anyone committed to evidence-based policy-making.
The move comes amid news of HHS plans to lay off 10,000 workers and shut down agencies, further straining the beleaguered health agency.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/fda-vaccine-chief-peter-marks-resign-rfk-kennedy-7743be11cec4e4e22c50c2ddbcb6bcd8