Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) clashed with former CDC Director Susan Monarez over childhood vaccines on Wednesday.
“Does the COVID vaccine reduce hospitalization for children under 18?” Paul asked.
Monarez said, “It can,” prompting Paul to assert, “It doesn’t.”
“The statistics are inconclusive, and the reason you can’t prove that it does is there’s so few people under 18 that go to the hospital,” he explained.
“When we’re discussing the science here, we have to discuss what is the science in favor of giving the vaccine to a 6-month-old, and what are the benefits from that? And there is no benefit of hospitalization or death. And then what would the risks of that vaccine be?” Paul added. “We have large population studies of the risks of the vaccine in younger people.”
Paul went on to declare that “we should” change the childhood vaccine schedule. “What is the medical reason to give a Hepatitis B vaccine to a newborn whose mom has no hepatitis?”
“What is the medical, scientific reason and proof for giving a newborn a Hepatitis-B vaccine if the mom is Hep-B negative?” the senator pressed.
Monarez said she would “not precommit to approving all the ACIP recommendations without the science.”
FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary has also suggested that the agency will revisit whether infants should receive the Hepatitis B vaccine.
“If a woman was having a baby today in New York City and the doctor is about to give her the Hep B vaccine, what would you advise that mother?” Martha MacCallum of Fox News asked Makary.
“I personally don’t believe that the evidence is solid to say the Hep B shot needs to be given at birth,” the FDA commissioner said. “It’s a sexually transmitted infection you’re trying to prevent. Kids are not sexually active until they’re of sexual age. So, a lot of parents say we’re going to wait until they’re 10, or 11, or 12.”
