The former leading vaccines official at the Food and Drug Administration expressed discontent with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for minimizing the toll of unvaccinated children succumbing to measles during this year’s record outbreak of the disease.
“To regard the deaths of children from preventable infectious diseases as mere statistics or inconsequential, that’s simply unacceptable,” remarked Dr. Peter Marks during an interview scheduled to air on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” this Sunday.
Weekly reported cases of measles have surged to the highest levels in the United States since a major wave of the virus in 2019, which was the worst in decades. This year’s outbreak has already been tied to three deaths, including those of two unvaccinated children in Texas.
“In the past 20 years, we’ve recorded three measles-related deaths across the nation, and we’re trying to redirect the media’s focus toward the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy stated at a White House Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Kennedy additionally highlighted the disparity between U.S. measles case figures and those in Europe, where hundreds of additional infections and numerous fatalities have been documented in recent months. He has utilized this comparison to support his argument that his management of the outbreak has been effective.
Marks took issue with Kennedy’s comparison, emphasizing that Europe’s data “includes countries like Romania, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and others with far less robust public health infrastructure than we possess.” He further contended that “even one death from measles in this country is completely unacceptable.”
“It is not appropriate to make that comparison. Our efforts against measles should be measured against the success we achieved in the first two decades of the 20th century before the 2019 outbreak, which is that we should not be experiencing any measles fatalities,” Marks asserted.
Changes at the FDA
Prior to being dismissed by Kennedy’s aides, Marks served as the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, overseeing vaccines and other biologic medical products. He was also instrumental in the Operation Warp Speed initiative, which expedited the development of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.
He cautioned that the current environment makes it “challenging for some of my former colleagues within the federal government to advocate for vaccines.”
“There are numerous individuals who cannot speak out as I do, acknowledging that this is a vaccine for which the benefits overwhelmingly surpass the risks,” Marks remarked.
Just days following Marks’ resignation, Kennedy enacted significant layoffs and enforced resignations across the FDA, part of a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s health institutions.
This restructuring has compelled federal health officials to make tough choices, particularly regarding how to prioritize a reduced number of food and drug safety inspections. Marks commended the remaining FDA staff as “heroes in public health” who are “striving to manage their responsibilities despite the overwhelming demands.”
“They monitor infections, ensure that vaccines up for approval are duly evaluated, and investigate outbreaks. These individuals continue to perform their duties to the best of their ability,” Marks noted.
Marks expressed concern over the delayed approval decision for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was anticipated to receive clearance earlier this month from the FDA, warning that his own removal might indicate a shift in the agency’s vaccination policies.
“Why would you underemphasize something so foundational to public health?” Marks questioned.
“Does a disservice to pseudoscience”
Marks mentioned that he never had direct interactions with Kennedy during his tenure as secretary. He also indicated that he was largely unaware of the administration’s attempts to revisit research into the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, amidst broader initiatives to ascertain the cause of autism.
When queried about Kennedy’s assertion that “we know it is an environmental toxin” leading to autism, Marks remarked that “it is quite uncommon for scientists to speak with such certainty.” Kennedy has faced years of backlash for insisting that vaccines are linked to autism, along with numerous other unfounded claims regarding the dangers of immunizations.
“Most issues are not simply black and white, and we don’t make absolute statements. In contrast, pseudoscientists often find it easy to speak dogmatically because they are not genuinely using science for society’s benefit but rather for their own agendas,” he asserted.
Marks stated that he was familiar with the former work of Dr. Mark Geier and his son, David Geier, who The Washington Post reported was assigned by Kennedy this year to reassess a prior Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study on vaccines and autism.
“They hold a steadfast belief that vaccines cause autism. Therefore, it seems implausible for me to believe we could arrive at any conclusion other than the idea that vaccines lead to autism,” Marks stated.
Describing Geier’s and his father’s work as pseudoscience “does a disservice to genuine pseudoscience,” Marks argued.
David Geier faced penalties from Maryland regulators for practicing medicine without a license, including unlawfully prescribing the drug Lupron to autistic children. Lupron has also been utilized as a chemical castration medication for sex offenders.
“I cannot even begin to understand as a physician how he thought that was an acceptable action,” Marks remarked.
