In late March, Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official, was forced out of his job by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In a resignation letter, Marks wrote that the Trump administration’s willingness to undermine confidence in vaccines was “irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety, and security.”
He added that Kennedy was only interested in “subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies” about vaccine safety.
Seven weeks later, the FDA named Marks’ successor: Dr. Vinay Prasad, a hematologist and oncologist. That wouldn’t necessarily be a notable development from a political perspective, except, as NBC News reported, the FDA’s new vaccine chief “has been accused of spreading misinformation about Covid vaccines and was an outspoken critic of the agency’s decision to approve Covid shots in children.” From the article:
He spent much of the pandemic criticizing the FDA’s and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s response to the virus. In a 2021 blog post and an accompanying video, Prasad suggested the national response to Covid might bring on the collapse of democracy, invoking the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich in Germany. On the blog that year, Prasad downplayed the anti-vaccine activism of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. … specifically his role in a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa. On Bari Weiss’ contrarian website, The Free Press, Prasad seemed to defend Kennedy’s most controversial positions on vaccines, raw milk and fluoride by listing other countries that have policies that align with Kennedy’s views.
What’s more, the report noted that Prasad has been an outspoken critic of his predecessor, arguing in 2022 that Marks “might be the worst FDA regulator in modern history” after the approval of Covid boosters in children. Last year, he called on Marks to be fired “ASAP.”
Prasad didn’t immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Complicating matters further is the public health team that Prasad is poised to join.
- Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the Trump-backed director of the National Institutes of Health, helped write the bizarre “Great Barrington Declaration” during the pandemic.
- Dr. Martin Makary, the Trump-backed FDA chief, also has a problematic record related to vaccines.
- Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, the Trump-backed nominee for surgeon general, has been a prominent voice on Fox News; she has little public health experience; and she’s been critical of vaccine requirements.
These officials will, of course, work under RFK Jr., a longtime proponent of ridiculous conspiracy theories and bizarre scientific ideas.
The Trump administration will have a dramatic impact on many issues and areas of public life, but few are as likely to be as consequential as its effects on public health.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
