Dr. Peter Marks, the former top vaccines official at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for trivializing the deaths of unvaccinated children due to measles, particularly in light of the record outbreak of the virus this year.
“To dismiss children’s deaths due to infectious diseases that are preventable by vaccines as just expected or not a big deal, that’s just not acceptable to me,” Marks stated in an interview airing Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
Measles cases have surged to the highest levels seen in the U.S. since a significant outbreak in 2019, which had been the worst in decades.
This year, three deaths have been linked to the measles outbreak, including two unvaccinated children in Texas.
Kennedy defended his stance during a White House Cabinet meeting, stating, “We’ve had three measles deaths in this country over 20 years, and we’re trying to refocus the press to get them to pay attention to the chronic disease epidemic.”
Kennedy has also drawn comparisons between measles cases in the United States and Europe, where thousands of infections and dozens of deaths have been reported in recent months.
He cited these comparisons as evidence of the success of his response to the outbreak.
However, Marks criticized this comparison, pointing out that European figures often include countries like Romania, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, which have less robust public health infrastructures than the U.S.
He emphasized, “Even a single death in this country from measles, it’s just— it’s just not excusable.”
Marks asserted that such comparisons do not accurately reflect the U.S. public health response and argued, “We shouldn’t be having any deaths from measles,” referencing the successful measures taken during the early 20th century prior to the 2019 outbreak.
Marks’s critique comes in the wake of significant changes at the FDA following Kennedy’s appointment.
Before being ousted by Kennedy’s aides, Marks served as the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, overseeing vaccines and other medical products derived from living sources.
He was also a key architect of Operation Warp Speed, which accelerated the development of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.
Marks voiced concerns about the current environment for federal health officials, claiming it’s now challenging for some colleagues to advocate for vaccines.
“There’s a whole host of people who can’t speak out like I am that are saying, you know, this is a vaccine for which the benefits so greatly outweigh the risks,” he remarked.
Following Marks’s resignation, which came just days before Kennedy’s sweeping restructuring of health agencies that resulted in significant layoffs and forced resignations throughout the FDA, federal health officials are confronted with tough decisions, including prioritizing fewer food and drug safety inspections.
He commended the remaining FDA staff as “heroes in public health” who continue to work diligently under challenging conditions.
According to Marks, these officials are tasked with monitoring infections, ensuring that vaccines approved for use are effective, and investigating outbreaks.
He shared concerns regarding the delay in the FDA’s decision about Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was anticipated to get approval earlier this month, and warned that his departure might indicate a shift in the agency’s stance on vaccinations.
“Why would you de-emphasize something that is so basic to public health,” Marks questioned.
He indicated that he never interacted directly with Kennedy and was largely unaware of the administration’s initiatives to revisit debunked theories regarding vaccines and autism.
When asked about Kennedy’s claims linking environmental toxins to autism, Marks stated, “It’s very rare for scientists to speak in absolutes.”
Kennedy has faced persistent criticism for promoting the unfounded assertion that vaccines cause autism, along with a range of other controversial claims regarding vaccinations.
Marks explained, “Most things are not that black and white, and we don’t speak in absolutes.
Whereas pseudoscientists find it very easy to speak in absolutes because they’re not actually looking to use science for the benefit of mankind; they’re usually using science for their own benefit.”
He also expressed skepticism about the work of Dr. Mark Geier and his son David Geier, who have been tasked by Kennedy this year to reconsider a past CDC study on vaccines and autism.
Marks stated, “They have a firm and fixed notion that vaccines cause autism.
So it’s very hard for me to see how we’re going to get to any other idea than vaccines cause autism.”
He described their work as pseudoscience, stating that it “does a disservice to pseudoscience.”
David Geier was previously fined by Maryland regulators for practicing medicine without a license, including prescribing treatments to autistic children.
Marks concluded, “I don’t know. I can’t even conceive as a physician of how he thought that could be a good idea.”
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