Under Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the HHS sent a document to Congress defending their stance on removing COVID-19 recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women. The problem? Many of the studies cited in the document are taken out of context, unpublished or are under dispute.
As an example, the HHS document cites a study and states the study found “an increase in placental blood clotting in pregnant mothers who took the (COVID-19) vaccine.” However, the study makes no references to placental blood clots in pregnant females.
In addition, the HHS document also cites additional studies to support the claim that the COVID-19 vaccine can be dangerous to pregnant women, but the studies mentioned actually support the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
There are several other instances of questionable citations and unpublished studies cited. But what does this all mean for public health and policy going forward?
The majority of Congress are not scientists and may not have the expertise to recognize false citations or mischaracterized findings from studies. However, proper citations to substantiate claims that will undoubtedly affect public policy should not be optional- it is critical to ensure the health and well-being of all Americans. If studies that are misinterpreted or unpublished without peer-review are being used to justify public policy for the general public, then the recommendations should not be upheld because they are not grounded in evidence or real facts.
If the recommendations are upheld, as may be the case for COVID-19 vaccines not being recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, less Americans will have access to life-saving vaccines and Americans will get sicker. Remember, COVID-19 vaccines were responsible for saving more than 14 million lives, according to research, and this includes the lives of children and pregnant women.
Policies and recommendations not based on science and evidence also open the door for the promotion of fringe theories that have no basis in facts or science. If vaccines are not promoted by the federal government, vaccine hesitancy soars and more people will opt out of getting vaccinated or may not have access to getting vaccines even if they desire it since insurance coverage for vaccines is largely dependent on endorsement from the federal government and government-based advisory committees. Lower uptake of vaccines means more infectious disease outbreaks and cases rising throughout the country, just as is occurring currently with whooping cough and measles. Currently, well over 1,000 cases of measles have been documented throughout America, largely fueled by vaccine hesitancy and decreased vaccination rates among children.
Deeper than just the health and public health effects is the strained trust for science that will continue to pervade the United States. If agencies like HHS and the CDC are viewed as politicizing decisions to promote various agendas of those in power, the public will become skeptical of following important health guidelines for public health issues. Without trust and transparency in public health, parents and Americans cannot make informed decisions to uphold their health. Public health depends on trust, and trust is built on evidence-based recommendations that have been shown to benefit society, not theories that cannot be substantiated.
RFK Jr. promised “radical transparency” as well as gold-standard science. This would be impossible to accomplish by sending documents to lawmakers that are filled with unpublished studies and citations that are completely misinterpreted. Gold-standard science is based on facts, evidence and rigorous peer-review, all noticeably absent from the document the HHS sent to Congress. Public health cannot survive in a world where misinformation comes from the top.
