RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Panel Votes Down Its Own Proposal to Require Prescriptions for Covid-19 Shots

In different vote, advisers recommended adding connection connected nan shot’s risks to nan vaccine’s accusation sheet, which is already required by law.

The committee’s attraction connected Covid-19 vaccines reflects Kennedy’s long-held suspicion of them. Since taking agency successful February, Kennedy has canceled a half-billion dollars successful mRNA vaccine research and separately ended a awesome statement pinch Moderna, 1 of nan Covid vaccine manufactures, for activity connected a pandemic vertebrate flu vaccine.

During Friday’s meeting, CDC scientists presented extended information connected nan information and efficacy of nan Covid vaccines. They besides explained successful item really nan agency tracks Covid hospitalizations and said nan agency has a “rigorous and standardized process” to find whether hospitalizations are classified arsenic being owed to Covid-19.

During nan chat information of nan meeting, committee members made respective unfounded claims. Robert Malone, a erstwhile mRNA interrogator who has spread vaccine misinformation, questioned whether location is really grounds of illness protection from nan Covid shots. "Are location immoderate well-defined, characterized correlates of protection for Covid, yes aliases no?" he demanded.

Cody Meissner, a pediatrician astatine Dartmouth College, responded that location is “a reasonable measurement of neutralizing aliases binding antibodies that correlate pinch protection against symptomatic infection successful nan first fewer months” aft vaccination.

At 1 point, Hillary Blackburn, a pharmacist connected nan committee, questioned whether nan Covid vaccine could beryllium connected to her mother’s lung crab diagnosis, which occurred 2 years aft receiving a Covid vaccine. She said she is alert of 4 different individuals successful her mini hometown diagnosed pinch nan aforesaid benignant of cancer. “Is it related to nan vaccine?” she asked.

In a tense speech astir imaginable commencement defects associated pinch nan Covid vaccines, immoderate ACIP members pressed shaper Pfizer astir eight commencement defects that occurred successful a group of pregnant women who received nan company’s vaccine and 2 commencement defects that occurred successful an unvaccinated group. Alejandra Gurtman, who heads vaccine objective investigation and improvement astatine Pfizer, replied that those rates are comparable to rates of congenital abnormalities seen successful nan wide population.

Carol Hayes, a liaison pinch nan American College of Nurse-Midwives who was coming during nan meeting, clarified that astir commencement defects originate during nan first trimester of pregnancy, and successful nan cited study, mothers received nan vaccine astatine 12 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

At Friday’s meeting, nan committee besides reversed a determination it made conscionable a time before. On Thursday, advisers voted to nary longer recommend nan mixed measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine to children nether property 4. Yet puzzlingly, it voted to support sum of that vaccine done nan national Vaccines for Children program, which provides free vaccines to low-income children and those without insurance. On Friday, they voted that nan programme should not, successful fact, screen it.

On Friday, advisers besides voted 11 to 1 successful favour of tabling a determination connected whether to hold nan commencement dose of nan hepatitis B vaccine until 1 period of age. The committee had discussed that vaccine extensively connected Thursday, though it’s unclear why nan committee was asked to look into nan imaginable alteration astatine all, arsenic nan hepatitis B vaccine has been fixed to newborns successful nan US since 1991.

Infants get nan vaccine earlier leaving nan infirmary because nan microorganism tin beryllium passed from an infected mother to nan babe during birth. Hepatitis B is simply a superior liver infection that tin lead to cirrhosis and cancer. The vaccine is highly effective astatine preventing infection successful newborns.

Chari Cohen, president of nan Hepatitis B Foundation, tells WIRED location is nary technological rationale for delaying nan hepatitis B vaccine until 1 period aft birth, and she worries astir an summation successful hepatitis B infections if nan sheet yet recommends delaying nan immunization.

“We will apt spot much babies and young children who go infected,” Cohen says. “From a nationalist wellness infrastructure perspective, we are concerned that this risk-based attack will miss preventing infection to babies calved to infected moms.”

Up to 16 percent of HBV-positive pregnant women don’t get tested for hepatitis B, truthful screening doesn’t seizure each infected mothers.

“We do not understand nan information aliases rationale for this debate," Cohen says.