A senior vaccine official at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was forced to leave work, reports the American media.
Peter Marks offered his letter of resignation to health and social services (HHS) on Friday after having the choice between resigning or dismissing.
“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary, but he rather wishes the subordinate confirmation of his disinformation and his lies,” wrote Mr. Marks in a resignation letter, obtained by several American media, referring to the new head of the agency Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Mr. Marks was one of the health professionals who helped develop COVVI-19 vaccines in the first Trump administration.
HHS replied in a press release to the BBC, saying that if Mr. Marks “does not want to find himself behind the restoration of science at his gold standard and promote radical transparency, then he has no place in the FDA under the strong direction of Secretary Kennedy.”
His resignation took effect on April 5.
In his letter, which was reported for the first time by the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Marks said that he was leaving with a “heavy heart” and noted that he was concerned about the epidemic of growing measles in Texas.
“(This) reminds us of what is happening when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined,” said Marks, according to media who obtained the letter.
Friday, two people died of measles and 523 cases were reported, including 400 in Texas.
Mr. Marks has been director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research within the FDA since 2016. He had been with the FDA since 2012.
Kennedy, who directs the HHS which oversees the FDA, is a well -known skeptical of the vaccine that has a The history of the dissemination of health information which, according to scientists, are false.
Earlier this week, Kennedy announced his intention to restructure HHS in part by cutting 10,000 employees, including those working at the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
