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Top FDA Vaccine Official Peter Marks Resigns From Agency

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The official was concerned within the pandemic-era Operation Warp Velocity to provide COVID-19 vaccines.

The Meals and Drug Administration’s high vaccine official submitted his letter of resignation on March 28, citing a few of Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s initiatives.

In a letter to appearing FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner, Dr. Peter Marks mentioned that he’ll step down by April 5 as the top of the Middle for Biologics Analysis and Analysis, which handles regulating vaccines for the company. It additionally oversees allergenic merchandise, blood merchandise, in addition to mobile, tissue, and gene therapies.

Marks oversaw the company’s speedy overview and approval of COVID-19 vaccines and coverings through the pandemic. Marks was additionally credited with developing with the “Operation Warp Velocity” identify for the trouble to rapidly develop vaccines throughout that point interval.

“As you might be conscious, I used to be prepared to work to handle the Secretary’s considerations concerning vaccine security and transparency by listening to from the general public and implementing quite a lot of completely different public conferences and engagements with the Nationwide Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medication,” Marks mentioned.

“Nevertheless, it has develop into clear that fact and transparency aren’t desired by the Secretary, however relatively he needs subservient affirmation of his misinformation and lies,” Marks mentioned, with out elaborating.

Marks, who The Epoch Occasions couldn’t attain for remark Sunday, additionally mentioned he’s involved about what he known as “efforts at present being superior by some on the opposed well being results of vaccination” and the “unprecedented assault on scientific fact that has adversely impacted public well being in our nation.”

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Elsewhere within the letter, Marks made notice of vaccines that had been used within the late 18th century in opposition to smallpox and pointed to an outbreak of measles in latest weeks.

“The continued multistate measles outbreak that’s notably extreme in Texas reminds us of what occurs when confidence in well-established science underlying public well being and well-being is undermined,” he wrote.

Kennedy has not publicly responded to Marks’ letter. The Epoch Occasions contacted the Division of Well being and Human Companies (HHS) for remark.

An HHS official launched a press release to information media over the weekend that “if Peter Marks doesn’t need to get behind restoring science to its golden customary and selling radical transparency, then he has no place at [the] FDA beneath the sturdy management of Secretary Kennedy.”

Officers in Texas and New Mexico mentioned that greater than 440 instances of measles have been reported within the two states since January. In the meantime, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention on March 28 confirmed 483 measles instances in 19 states complete to this point in 2025.
Late final month, Kennedy wrote that dealing with the measles outbreak is one among his high priorities and that vaccines for the virus had been despatched to impacted areas in Texas and New Mexico.

HHS will present “lab assist to higher monitor the virus inflicting the outbreak,” will talk “with public well being officers every single day in all affected areas to assist their response and guarantee they’ve the sources they want,” and supply communications to native communities, Kennedy mentioned in a publish on the social media platform X.

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The secretary additionally informed Fox Information in March that he traveled to Texas and mentioned that sufferers are receiving varied remedies for measles, together with vitamin A and different therapeutics.

The information of Marks’ resignation from the FDA additionally comes as HHS mentioned it plans to put off round 10,000 staff and shut down a number of companies, saying that the transfer is designed to cut back paperwork and redundancies throughout the sprawling well being company.

“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS develop into wasteful and inefficient even when most of their workers are devoted and competent civil servants,” Kennedy mentioned in a press release. “This overhaul will probably be a win-win for taxpayers and for those who HHS serves. That’s all the American public, as a result of our aim is to Make America Wholesome Once more.”

The Related Press contributed to this report.

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