In Donald Trump’s America, you don’t have the liberty to determine if you will get a COVID booster or not.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. introduced Tuesday that, efficient instantly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would now not advocate children and pregnant girls get common COVID-19 boosters.
Kennedy made the announcement by way of a 58-second video on social media, flanked by National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Marty Makary, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
Notably absent: anybody truly from the CDC, the federal government company that points immunization schedules. The company is at present working with out an appearing director.
The new recommendation appears to be undercut by Makary himself, who co-authored an article within the New England Journal of Medicine final week that listed “pregnancy and recent pregnancy” as underlying medical circumstances that improve the chance of extreme COVID-19, and may subsequently get COVID boosters.
In the video announcement, Kennedy mentioned he “couldn’t be more pleased” by the event that successfully prevents American households from making their very own selections. Prior to his affirmation as HHS secretary, the vaccine skeptic insisted he didn’t wish to take vaccines away.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that, as of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule,” he mentioned. “Last year, the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot, despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children.”
Reading from a script, NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya chimed in: “That ends today. It’s common sense and it’s good science,” he mentioned.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists each disagree with that evaluation.
In a press release, AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases Chair Sean T. O’Leary, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, expressed concern about limiting entry to vaccines for youths, and the method by which HHS arrived at that call.
“The way we license and recommend vaccines in the U.S. is really a model for much of the world and to circumvent that process in this manner is deeply concerning,” he mentioned.
“Just as we are seeing with the current measles outbreak, lower vaccination uptake means more disease,” he added. “When everyone has access to immunizations, our communities and our children are healthier.”
At the time of the announcement, the CDC web site suggested everybody aged 6 months and older to get the 2024-2025 COVID-19 booster, noting it presents higher safety for at present circulating strains, and lowers the chance of lengthy COVID.
A separate web page particularly for individuals who are pregnant or breastfeeding additionally strongly recommends they get up to date vaccines, citing clear advantages for each the mother or father and their unborn little one.
Kennedy, a lawyer with no medical coaching, has made round $2.5 million on referral charges for private damage lawsuits filed towards vaccine producers and has lengthy sought to strip vaccine makers of authorized protections.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rfk-jr-covid-boosters-children-pregnant-women_n_6835db3ee4b0a70b65d592f5