RFK Jr. sent Congress 'medical disinformation' to defend COVID vaccine schedule change

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testifies during his Senate Committee connected Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

A archive nan Department of Health and Human Services sent to lawmakers to support Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s determination to alteration U.S. argumentation connected COVID vaccines cites technological studies that are unpublished aliases nether conflict and mischaracterizes others.

One wellness master called nan archive "willful aesculapian disinformation" astir nan information of COVID vaccines for children and pregnant women.

"It is truthful acold retired of near section that I find it insulting to our members of Congress that they would really springiness them thing for illustration this. Congress members are relying connected these agencies to supply them pinch valid information, and it's conscionable not there," said Dr. Mark Turrentine, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology astatine Baylor College of Medicine.

Kennedy, who was an anti-vaccine activistic earlier taking a domiciled successful nan administration, announced May 27 that nan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would no longer urge COVID vaccines for pregnant women aliases patient children, bypassing nan agency's general process for adjusting its vaccine schedules for adults and kids.

The announcement, made connected nan societal media level X, has been met pinch outrage by galore pediatricians and scientists.

The HHS archive meant to support Kennedy's decision, obtained by KFF Health News, was sent to members of Congress, according to Democratic unit connected nan House Energy and Commerce Committee and nan agency of Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash.

Titled "Covid Recommendation FAQ", nan archive has not been posted connected nan HHS website, though it is nan first elaborate mentation of Kennedy's announcement from nan agency.

Medical experts who reviewed each nan citations successful nan FAQ said it distorts immoderate morganatic studies and cites others that are disputed and unpublished.

HHS head of communications Andrew Nixon told KFF Health News: "There is nary distortion of nan studies successful this document. The underlying information speaks for itself, and it raises morganatic information concerns. HHS will not disregard that grounds aliases downplay it. We will travel nan information and nan science."

HHS did not respond to a petition to sanction nan writer of nan document.

One of nan studies nan HHS archive cites is nether investigation by its publisher, Sage Journals, regarding "potential issues pinch nan investigation methodology and conclusions and writer conflicts of interest," according to a nexus connected the study's webpage.

"This is RFK Jr.'s playbook," said Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of nan Committee connected Infectious Diseases for nan American Academy of Pediatrics and an adjunct professor of pediatrics astatine nan University of Colorado School of Medicine. "Either cherry-pick from bully subject aliases return junk subject to support his premise — this has been his playbook for 20 years."

Outdated and misinterpreted investigation astir myocarditis and pericarditis

Another study cited successful nan archive is simply a preprint that was made disposable online a twelvemonth ago, and has still not been published successful a peer-reviewed journal. Under nan study's title is an alert that "it reports caller aesculapian investigation that has yet to beryllium evaluated and truthful should not beryllium utilized to guideline objective practice."

An alert successful bluish astatine nan apical of a preprint study cited successful nan HHS archive informs readers nan study has not been peer-reviewed. Screengrab of a preprint study connected medRxiv.org/KFF hide caption

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Screengrab of a preprint study connected medRxiv.org/KFF

The FAQ draws connected nan preprint to declare that "post-marketing studies" of COVID vaccines person identified "serious adverse effects, specified arsenic an accrued consequence of myocarditis and pericarditis" — conditions successful which nan heart's musculus aliases its covering, nan pericardium, suffer inflammation.

While investigation early successful nan pandemic did find that, caller investigation not included successful nan memo indicates that nan consequence has fallen pinch caller vaccine protocols.

And nan HHS archive omitted galore different peer-reviewed studies that person shown that nan risk of myocarditis and pericarditis is greater aft contracting COVID for some vaccinated and non-vaccinated group than nan consequence of nan aforesaid complications aft vaccination alone.

One nan 2024 preprint coauthors refuted nan idea that their investigation recovered myocarditis and pericarditis were caused by nan COVID shots, alternatively than COVID infection, noting that nan study did not comparison outcomes betwixt group who were vaccinated and those infected pinch nan COVID virus.

The study besides focused only connected children and adolescents.

O'Leary said that while immoderate cases of myocarditis were reported successful vaccinated teen boys and young men early successful nan COVID pandemic, nan rates declined aft nan 2 first doses of COVID vaccines were spaced further apart.

Now, adolescents and adults who person not been antecedently vaccinated person only 1 shot, and myocarditis nary longer shows up successful nan data, O'Leary said, referring to nan CDC's Vaccine Safety Datalink. "There is nary accrued consequence astatine this constituent that we tin identify," he said.

Congress relies connected wellness agencies for meticulous guidance

In 2 instances, nan HHS memo makes claims astir dangers to pregnant women that are actively refuted by the papers it cites to backmost them up. Both papers support nan information and effectiveness of COVID vaccines for pregnant women.

The HHS archive says that different paper it cites recovered "an summation successful placental humor clotting successful pregnant mothers who took nan vaccine." But nan insubstantial doesn't incorporate immoderate reference to placental humor clots aliases to pregnant women.

"I've now publication it 3 times. And I cannot find that anywhere," said Turrentine, nan OB-GYN professor.

If he were grading nan HHS document, "I would springiness this an 'F,'" Turrentine said. "This is not supported by thing and it's not utilizing aesculapian evidence."

While members of Congress who are physicians should cognize to cheque references successful nan paper, they whitethorn not return nan clip to do so, said Dr. Neil Silverman, a professor of objective obstetrics and gynecology who directs nan Infectious Diseases successful Pregnancy Program astatine nan David Geffen School of Medicine astatine UCLA.

"They're going to presume this is coming from a technological agency. So they are being hoodwinked on pinch everyone other who has had entree to this document," Silverman said.

The offices of 3 Republicans successful Congress who are aesculapian doctors serving connected House and Senate committees focused connected health, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., did not respond to requests for remark astir whether they received nan memo. Emily Druckman, communications head for Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., a expert serving connected nan House Energy and Commerce Committee, confirmed that Rep. Schrier's agency did person a transcript of nan document.

"The problem is simply a batch of legislators and moreover their staffers, they don't person nan expertise to beryllium capable to prime those references apart," O'Leary said."

C.J. Young, lawman communications head for nan House Energy and Commerce Committee, confirmed that Democratic unit members of nan committee received nan archive from HHS. In nan past, he said, akin documents would thief explain nan justification and scope of an administration's argumentation alteration and could beryllium assumed to beryllium scientifically accurate, Young said.

"This feels for illustration it's breaking caller ground. I don't deliberation that we saw this level of sloppiness aliases inattention to item aliases deficiency of information for technological merit nether nan first Trump administration," Young said.

KFF Health News is simply a nationalist newsroom that produces in-depth publicity astir wellness issues and is 1 of nan halfway operating programs astatine KFF.