The watchdog is requesting records from the government regarding their varying COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.
The Biden administration has been saying for several months that a COVID-19 vaccine will need to be taken yearly. In September, Dr. Ashish Jha, who leads the White House COVID-19 response, said that most people will only need one COVID shot per year. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser, made a similar comparison to the annual flu vaccine during the same month.
Health Secretary Xavier Becerra advised on Twitter that individuals should receive a vaccine if their last dose was administered more than two months ago.
According to a watchdog group called the Functional Government Initiative, the timing for COVID boosters has changed multiple times and is changing again. Previously, many including the President and health officials believed that the original COVID vaccine would provide permanent protection. However, the nation's top-ranking health official is now recommending vaccine doses every two months. The Epoch Times reviewed a request for records, sent on December 1st by the watchdog group to the Department of Health and Human Services, for evidence to support Becerra's advice.
The initiative is requesting any scientific evidence that Becerra used to support his recommendation of administering shots every two months, any studies conducted on the success rate of bi-monthly shots, and any documentation demonstrating Becerra's communication regarding the safety of the revised shots.
According to an email from an HHS spokesperson to The Epoch Times, the entire Administration is urging people to not delay and get their free and safe COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines can be easily found in their community through vaccines.gov.
According to a statement from government initiative spokesperson Pete McGinnis, although Americans are frequently advised to “trust the science” on matters relating to public health, they are seldom presented with the scientific foundation that supports these decisions.
He added that the sudden increase from one annual vaccine shot to six shots within 24 hours, without any evidence to support its necessity, has made Americans both confused and concerned with their government's competency in tackling health crises. This decision might also lead to healthy young individuals being exposed to a potential risk of heart inflammation without significant benefits, apart from having an increased number of vaccine doses. The public deserves to know whether Secretary Becerra reviewed any scientific data before suggesting bi-monthly booster vaccinations.
New Shots
Pfizer and Moderna have created new vaccines that include parts of both the original Wuhan virus and the newer BA.4/BA.5 subvariants, as the effectiveness of the original vaccines decreased with the emergence of these variants.
In late August, the shots were authorized by U.S. regulators and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended them for almost all Americans aged 12 years and above. Later, the authorization and recommendation got extended to children as young as 6 months old. However, it is important to note that there is no human clinical data available for either of the vaccines. The only data on effectiveness that has emerged suggests substandard protection.
The updated vaccines are primarily being used as boosters, while the old vaccines (the first two shots) are still being used as the primary series. The Biden administration officials have made repeated statements containing misinformation regarding the updated vaccines.
On December 9, Jha and Fauci suggested that the vaccines may protect against severe illness, although this hasn't been proven yet. Additionally, Fauci acknowledged that the vaccines' effectiveness may decrease over time, with waning occurring within weeks of administration.
According to Fauci, many people are confused about why they need to get multiple doses of COVID vaccines while they only had to get one shot for measles and polio vaccines. Fauci explains that other vaccines provide lasting immunity for decades or even a lifetime, but COVID immunity does not last that long. Therefore, it is necessary to keep up with the virus and get additional doses to ensure ongoing protection and safety.
CDC Recommendations
The CDC recommends that individuals keep their vaccine status current. For individuals who are 5 years and older, it is advised that they receive one of the new booster vaccines if at least two months have passed since their last vaccination, even if it was an older booster. The CDC advises that even if individuals have received multiple older boosters, they should still get one of the new ones.
According to the CDC, getting vaccinated with boosters is crucial for preventing severe illness or death from COVID-19. However, no evidence is provided to support this statement.
The CDC provided the only data on the effectiveness of the new boosters, and based on real-world testing, researchers estimated that they offer 22 to 43 percent protection against symptomatic infection, depending on age. This falls below the minimum requirement of 50 percent effectiveness needed for authorization according to U.S. and international standards.
The CDC did not provide an estimation about the level of protection against severe illness.
