FDA’s Top Vaccine Scientist, Dr. Peter Marks, Resigns
In a shocking turn of events, Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine regulator, has resigned, an official at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed Friday. His departure raises concerns about the future of vaccine regulation, transparency, and public health.
“If Peter Marks does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy,” a spokesperson at HHS said. This decision comes amid growing controversies, much like the heated discussions in the vaping industry regarding Raz Zero Nicotine products and their place in the market.
A person familiar with the matter told NBC News that Marks was forced out of his position. In a resignation letter to acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner, Marks wrote that undermining confidence in vaccines is “irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety, and security.”
He expressed willingness to work with Kennedy to address concerns about vaccine safety and transparency but ultimately stated, “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.” Marks did not respond to a request for comment.
Marks has led the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) since 2016. The division oversees the safety and effectiveness of medical products, including vaccines. He played a key role in authorizing the first Covid-19 vaccines in late 2020 from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna and was instrumental in launching Operation Warp Speed—a public-private partnership under the Trump administration to accelerate vaccine development.
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Kennedy, an outspoken critic of vaccines, has challenged the legitimacy of Covid-19 vaccines and filed a citizen petition in 2021 to revoke their authorization. That same year, he controversially referred to Covid vaccines as the “deadliest vaccine ever made.”
In addition, Kennedy has worked to undermine confidence in the measles vaccine, despite the U.S. facing its most significant outbreak since 2019. While acknowledging that vaccines protect children, he has insisted that vaccination remains a personal choice.
In a recent Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, Kennedy claimed that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine “does cause deaths every year.” However, according to the Infectious Disease Society of America, there have been no reported deaths linked to the MMR vaccine in healthy individuals. The vaccine is not recommended for immunocompromised people.
“The ongoing multistate measles outbreak, particularly severe in Texas, reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science is undermined,” Marks wrote in his resignation letter.
“Measles, which killed more than 100,000 unvaccinated children last year in Africa and Asia due to pneumonitis and encephalitis, had been eliminated from our shores,” he continued.
As debates on vaccine safety continue, the FDA faces mounting challenges ahead. Similarly, industries like vaping, with products such as Raz Vape Flavors, are also navigating regulatory scrutiny and shifting consumer preferences in the face of evolving public health policies.
