ANKARA

The top vaccine official at the US Food and Drug Administration resigned Friday, accusing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of spreading misinformation that puts public health at risk, according to media reports.

Dr. Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, stepped down after reportedly being told to resign or be dismissed, the New York Times reported.

“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary,” Marks wrote in a letter to the FDA’s acting commissioner. “He wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

Speaking in an interview, Marks said: “This man does not care about the truth. He cares about what is making him followers.”

Marks was a key figure during the COVID-19 pandemic, overseeing vaccine development and emergency use authorizations.

His resignation follows growing friction over Kennedy’s public health approach, which critics say erodes trust in vaccines.

Since taking office in February, Kennedy has questioned vaccine effectiveness, pushed vitamin A during a measles outbreak, and installed a vaccine-skeptical analyst at the CDC. He also proposed creating a new vaccine injury agency.

“Undermining confidence in well-established vaccines is irresponsible,” Marks said, calling it “a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety and security.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services responded by saying Marks “had no place” at the FDA if he did not support transparency.

Marks said he had attempted to work with the administration to rebuild public trust in vaccines but concluded, “that’s not what they wanted.”

He described his departure as “a weight lifted.”

Colleagues, including Dr. Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine, said his exit would leave a significant gap in FDA leadership.