FDA Officials: Thousands of Excess Deaths Likely if More People Don’t Get Vaccinated

Officials make unsupported claims in new editorial.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), testifies to a Senate panel on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 11, 2021. Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool/Getty Images

Two top U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials are urging Americans to get vaccines, including COVID-19 shots, warning that there will likely be thousands of excess deaths over the winter if they do not.

Dr. Peter Marks and Dr. Robert Califf wrote in the editorial, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, that vaccination rates may be approaching a “dangerous tipping point” because of the growing number of people opting against the influenza, COVID-19, and other vaccines.