Elon Musk this week amplified an unfounded claim, based on a distortion of vaccine safety monitoring data, that COVID-19 vaccines killed tens of thousands of people in Germany. The vaccines saved millions of lives worldwide during a deadly pandemic, and serious side effects or deaths from vaccination are rare.
During her confirmation hearing to become surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means had various back-and-forths with senators, who pressed her on topics related to vaccines, her qualifications and disclosure of her conflicts of interest. We looked into the sometimes-dueling claims from Means and the senators.
In sweeping changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends universal vaccination against six diseases. In justifying the move, health officials made misleading claims about vaccine safety while downplaying or omitting benefits.
On Sept. 18, the vaccine advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to change its recommendation on the combined vaccine for chickenpox and measles, mumps and rubella, called the MMRV vaccine. We spoke to experts about claims made at the meeting as well as the implications of the vote.
A large Danish study recently provided reassurance that aluminum-containing vaccines are not associated with increased rates of chronic health conditions in children, including autism. But Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. misrepresented the study’s findings, claiming that the paper’s supplementary data “shows calamitous evidence of harm.”
In justifying the government’s termination of $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine projects, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed mRNA vaccines “fail to protect effectively” against COVID-19 and suggested they are unsafe. The mRNA shots saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and have shown promise against influenza.
A CDC advisory panel vote to recommend against use of seasonal influenza vaccines containing small amounts of thimerosal followed a presentation that misled on the risks of the rarely used preservative. There isn’t evidence that thimerosal in vaccines is harmful, and studies assessing a variety of health problems, including neurological conditions, have supported its safety.
The chair of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly constituted vaccine advisory committee announced in his first meeting that the panel will revisit the longstanding practice of vaccinating all babies against hepatitis B, questioning whether it was “wise” to administer shots “to every newborn before leaving the hospital.” Experts, however, say there are valid reasons to vaccinate babies against hepatitis B, and that it has proven to be safe and very effective.
A document the Department of Health and Human Services distributed to members of Congress to justify recent changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations misrepresented scientific research to make unfounded claims about vaccine safety for pregnant people and children.
The Department of Health and Human Services has defended cuts to vaccine research with statements that mislead on the safety of mRNA technology, despite an extensive history of testing.