Today's News: FDA’s Top Vaccine Official Resigns Citing Promotion of Vaccine Misinformation
Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine official and longtime head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said he was asked to resign or be fired.
Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE
Overview
Date: March 28–29, 2025
Topic: FDA’s Top Vaccine Official Resigns Amid Conflict with RFK Jr.
Summary: Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine official and longtime head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has resigned under pressure from the Trump administration and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Citing Kennedy’s promotion of vaccine misinformation, Marks said he was asked to resign or be fired. His resignation has sparked widespread concern among scientists, public health experts, and former FDA officials. The departure comes amid broader HHS upheaval and rising measles outbreaks, with fears that Kennedy’s policies threaten public health and the integrity of vaccine regulation.
Sources
The New York Times – The top F.D.A. vaccine official resigns, citing Kennedy’s ‘misinformation and lies.’
NBC News – FDA's top vaccine scientist is out, citing Kennedy's 'misinformation and lies'
Fox News – Top vaccine official allegedly pushed out of FDA: report
The Washington Post – RFK Jr. forces out Peter Marks, FDA’s top vaccine scientist
The Wall Street Journal – FDA’s Top Vaccine Official Forced Out
Key Points
Dr. Peter Marks was forced to resign or be fired by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., citing a conflict over vaccine policy and scientific integrity.
Marks led the FDA’s vaccine division through the COVID-19 pandemic and was a key figure in Operation Warp Speed.
Kennedy has promoted views long considered anti-vaccine, questioned vaccine safety, and has taken steps to reshape federal vaccine oversight.
Marks warned of the danger posed by undermining public trust in vaccines, particularly amid a severe U.S. measles outbreak.
Multiple public health experts and former FDA officials expressed deep concern over Marks's ouster and what it signals for science-based governance.
Unique Highlights
CNN included quotes from Dr. Paul Offit predicting Kennedy’s influence would lead to manipulated studies linking vaccines to autism.
The New York Times noted Kennedy appointed an anti-vaccine analyst to study autism links and is creating a new vaccine injury agency.
The Washington Post cited former FDA commissioners Scott Gottlieb and Mark McClellan praising Marks’s role in cell and gene therapy and warning of institutional erosion.
Fox News referenced Kennedy’s claim during his confirmation hearing that all his children are vaccinated and that he is “pro-safety,” not “anti-vaccine.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that Kennedy is collecting names for a revamped vaccine advisory committee and has paused vaccine contracts.
NBC News cited Kennedy's past claims that the MMR vaccine causes deaths, contradicted by infectious disease experts.
Contrasting Details
Fox News emphasized Kennedy’s defense of vaccines and community immunity, while The New York Times and The Washington Post highlighted his consistent undermining of vaccine science.
CNN and NBC News stressed public health risks and expert warnings; Fox News presented a more neutral or defensive framing of Kennedy’s position.
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times provided more in-depth analysis of Kennedy's structural changes at HHS, while others focused more on Marks’s resignation event.
Some outlets portrayed Marks’s departure as an isolated personnel matter (Fox News), while others framed it as part of a broader, systemic dismantling of science-based governance (CNN, The Washington Post).
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