U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wait for U.S. President Donald Trump to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on March 28, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is headed to Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida for the weekend.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine crusader, is not qualified to have any power at the agency that’s supposed to protect the health of Americans, said research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald, which was formerly headed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Cantor’s note came as Peter Marks, the head of the FDA biologics division, resigned in protest of Kennedy’s skepticism of vaccines. Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, has already taken steps that public health experts say could deter routine immunizations in the U.S.
“We call on the administration to re-evaluate RFK Jr’s role at HHS. Pushing out one of the most trusted leaders of the FDA to promote an anti-science agenda is a step too far for us,” analysts Josh Schimmer and Eric Schmidt wrote in an unusual note to clients Tuesday. “HHS cannot be led by an anti-vax, conspiracy theorist with inadequate training.”
Kennedy has downplayed the importance of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and promoted unproven treatments to counter the measles outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also carrying out a study into long debunked links between vaccines and autism, led by a researcher with a history of spreading misinformation about shots.
“An amateur scientist who doesn’t appreciate the need for difficult public health policy decisions, who struggles with the difference between causality and correlation, and who promotes unproven remedies at the expense of proven ones is not the right person for the job, on our view,” Cantor analysts wrote.
Shares of vaccine makers Moderna and Novavax, along with a range of other biotech companies, sold off significantly Monday after the resignation of Marks. Moderna and Novavax both shed more than 8%, while the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF slid nearly 4%.
“This has nothing to do with stocks, although the biotech tape may be roiled from Marks’ resignation, that’s not what matters,” stated the analysts who normally opine to clients about whether to buy or sell certain equities. “This is much bigger than that.”
HHS didn’t immediately respond to a CNBC’s request for comment.
“We already had a needless measles death. It’s time to end the narrative of ‘just take Vitamin A’ and ‘give individuals the freedom to choose’ all whilst telling them vaccines can cause autism. How many more people need to die from this absurdity?” the analysts wrote.
Lutnick stepped down as chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald in February after he was confirmed as the Secretary of Commerce. Lutnick led the investment bank for 40 years.