FDA Names New Acting Vaccine Leader After Previous Chief’s Departure

Scott Steele was named acting head. Peter Marks left the position last month over what he saw as HHS Secretary Kennedy’s ’misinformation and lies.’

After its top vaccine official left the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency announced Tuesday that it has named his replacement.

In an April 1 statement on X, the FDA said Scott Steele would be the acting head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), which Peter Marks once led.

“Dr. Steele is a science, technology, and policy professional at FDA with extensive experience in multiple disciplines, including emerging science and technology, translational science, public health preparedness, and biodefense and medical countermeasures,” the FDA statement said.

Since 2017, Steele has had multiple roles in the FDA and, most recently, was a senior adviser to CBER’s translational science office, according to the FDA. Before that, he worked on an assignment in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research on policies.

Aside from vaccines, CBER also oversees allergenic products, blood products, and cellular, tissue, and gene therapies.

Late last month, Marks submitted a letter to the FDA’s former acting director, Sara Brenner, saying he would step down in April. His letter cited concerns about how Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would handle vaccines and other initiatives.

Marks had overseen the agency’s rapid review and approval of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments during the pandemic. Marks was also credited with coming up with the “Operation Warp Speed” name for the effort to quickly develop vaccines during that time period.

“As you are aware, I was willing to work to address the secretary’s concerns regarding vaccine safety and transparency by hearing from the public and implementing a variety of different public meetings and engagements with the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,” Marks said in his letter.

“However, 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.”

A spokesperson for HHS, which did not respond to an Epoch Times request for comment this week, issued a statement to news media over the weekend that “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 [the] FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy.”

Last week, HHS announced it is planning to lay off about 10,000 workers and would shut down several agencies within its jurisdiction, saying the decision is meant to reduce bureaucracy and redundancies. This week, several HHS-overseen agencies started laying off workers, according to workers who spoke with The Epoch Times.

“That’s what hurts about all of this—that with all of that dedication, this is what we get in return,” one person who had worked for HHS told The Epoch Times earlier this week near the HHS building, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were still negotiating a severance package. Other terminated employees were seen on April 1 taking their belongings from the Washington HHS building or were being barred from entering.

Marks’s departure comes as new FDA Director Dr. Martin Makary took office after he was confirmed in the Senate by a bipartisan vote last month.

“We have a tremendous opportunity at this unique moment in time to greatly improve public health outcomes for Americans, and to tackle the most critical health issues impacting people,” he wrote on X on Tuesday.