Top vaccine official forced out of FDA

The head of the US Food and Drug Administration department responsible for assuring the safety and effectiveness of vaccines has resigned, according to a resignation letter obtained by CNN.

The head of the US Food and Drug Administration department responsible for assuring the safety and effectiveness of vaccines has resigned, according to a resignation letter obtained by CNN. Dr. Peter Marks, director of the agency’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, was given the choice to resign or be fired. Marks’ resignation takes effect April 5. The news of Marks’ forced resignation was first reported Friday by The Wall Street Journal. “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 wrote in his letter, referring to US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In an email, an HHS official told CNN, “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.” FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research is responsible for the safety and effectiveness of biological products, including vaccines, allergenic products, blood and blood products, and cellular, tissue and gene therapies.