The FDA's vaccine chief hopes to find common ground with RFK Jr.

The Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine official said he hopes to find common ground with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. chosen on thursday President-elect Donald Trump has appointed him as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

“What I want from him is that he be open-minded. We want to be willing to show as much data as possible. And in certain areas data is inherently overwhelming. But we just have to keep it going and engage in the dialogue,” Dr. Peter Marks said in his talk. event This week, hosted by the Milken Institute in Washington, DC, President Trump's decision.

President Kennedy has insisted that he is not “anti-vaccine” and has promised not to ban vaccines under the Trump administration. Instead, Kennedy promised It accused Ministry of Health officials of a cover-up in an effort to “restore transparency” around vaccine safety data and records.

Marks flatly criticized Kennedy's claims about safety data.

“There are no such things as secret files. So if they're secret, I have security clearance. If they're secret to me, they're on some other level of classification. There must be,” he said.

Public health experts disagree with President Kennedy's long record. misleading statement They question the safety of the vaccine and worry it could undo decades of hard-fought victories in vaccine improvement. vaccination rate against deadly disease.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a watchdog group that has often clashed with the FDA, Likened to The choice is to “place a flat Arthur on the head of NASA.”

Marks is a career civil servant who played a key role in launching the Trump administration. operation warp speed response to COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) He said he was “sitting” in the room across from Kennedy during the 2020 pandemic when vaccines were discussed multiple times.

He said he was concerned that spending time “re-litigating what we know works” could undermine other important FDA efforts, but that Further eroding trust in the US could be potentially deadly during future pandemics. vaccine — Marks also said working with RFK Jr. could offer a sign of hope.

“Maybe engaging in that dialogue, especially if it's in a public space, might be helpful. It might help bring the rest of the country along, because sometimes someone Because, as I'm sure, maybe, just maybe, the rest of the country will be convinced, too,'' he said.

Marks rejected Kennedy's assertion that the FDA has many corrupt employees who should be fired, emphasizing that the agency is dedicated to protecting the health of the American people. Marks said he wants to continue working for Trump and Kennedy and protect the team at his core.

“They're doing it to protect the American people, not for any nefarious purpose. And during the coronavirus pandemic, people have been working 14-hour days,” Marks said. He spoke about the agency's staff.

President Kennedy vowed to end what he called the agency's “war on public health.” caveat They ask workers who are “part of this corrupt system” to “pack their bags.”

He also specifically promised to fire all nutrition scientists at the FDA and other agencies on his first day in office, accusing them of being exploited by corporate interests.

“I look forward to working with HHS's more than 80,000 employees to pursue our mission of lifting the agency from the cloud of corporate takeovers and making Americans once again the healthiest people on earth,” said Kennedy. “I'm doing it,” he said. Posted Thursday of X.

Asked about Kennedy's scientific expertise, Marks said he thought Kennedy's understanding was “not as deep as some people.” I know a lot of people. So it's not about the degree. It's just about the degree.” It's a matter of keeping an open mind. ”

Kennedy's selection for the role was only announced Thursday, but health officials have been preparing for the possibility for some time. During the campaign, Mr. Trump vowed that if he won, he would allow Mr. Kennedy to “run amok” about his health issues.

Kennedy: “President Trump wants to see tangible and measurable reductions in chronic disease within two years, and he has told me as much.'' said 9 in November.

President Kennedy has created a state of emergency to combat chronic disease, giving him more authority to address what he believes are the root causes of the federal government's failure to address rising rates of diseases ranging from autism to obesity. He said he asked President Trump to make a declaration.

“To do that, we need to react very quickly, and we need to treat this with the same urgency as the COVID-19 outbreak. It's twice as bad,” President Kennedy said.