RFK Jr. is a 'conspiracy theorist' endangering lives, say analysts at Howard Lutnick's former firm

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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