Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its own vaccine recommendations that differed from the federal guidelines shaped by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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But what's behind the disconnect? Dr. Richard Besser, who is the former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sat down with Scripps News to explain.
Why are some health associations breaking with CDC recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine this fall?
"The reason you're seeing the Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology breaking from the Department of Health and Human Services is that for the first time in my lifetime, the Department of Health and Human Services has moved away from evidence-based guidelines," Besser explained. "It used to be that you could look to those guidelines and know that they were based on the best available science. That's not the case anymore."
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"The secretary has populated the committee that makes those recommendations with the anti-vaccine advocates," he added. "And so their current recommendations to not recommend the COVID vaccination for young children and for pregnant women flies in the face of evidence. These are two groups that are at higher risk for having severe COVID infection, they're at higher risk for being hospitalized for requiring intensive care services, and, unfortunately, they're also at higher risk of dying from COVID."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Scripps News there was unanimity with the FDA, NIH, CDC and BARDA with this vaccine recommendation decision. Are they right that there are potential dangers to the COVID-19 vaccine, or is that not solid science?
"First of all, there's not unanimity amongst those institutions," Besser said. "There may be unanimity amongst political appointees — or at least they're following the party line."
"When the secretary was appointed — I think this was during his hearings as well — he said don't follow him for scientific advice, he's not a scientist. In his interview with [Scripps News], he seemed to being playing the part of one," he continued. "And unfortunately, what he was sharing was misinformation and disinformation."
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"We have now the experience of COVID vaccination with MRNA vaccination in hundreds of millions of people here and around the world," Besser added. "We know that those vaccines are incredibly safe and incredibly effective. So, for him to share the misinformation that he shared with you will lead some people to make decisions that they think are in the best interest of their health and the health of their families, that will put them at increased risk."
Watch Scripps News' full interview with Dr. Richard Besser in the video player above.
