A little over a week ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorized the first round of Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 shots for infants as young as 6 months old. The decision came following a unanimous agreement among members of the FDAs advisory panel, who recommended the jabs for children under the age of five.

Together, with science leading the charge, we have takenanother important stepforwardin our nations fight against COVID-19, said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in a statement on the matter. We know millions of parents and caregivers are eager to get their young children vaccinated, and with todays decision, they can.

Walensky would later go on to falsely claim during a Thursday press conference that Covid-19 has been one of the top five causes of death for children since the beginning of its outbreak, making her the third CDC official this month to make this assertion.

In greenlighting the use of Covid jabs for infants, the CDC and FDA also officially made the United States the first country in the world to do so. U.S. President Joe Biden took to Twitter to celebrate the decision, saying that For the first time in our fight against this pandemic, nearly every American can now have access to life-saving vaccines.

Similar sentiments were also echoed by White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who repeatedly emphasized how America would be the first country on earth to give mRNA vaccines to its youngest children.

As has long been established, children are the least at-risk age demographic with respect to Covid-19. As of June 2, 2022, for instance, 0-to 17-year-olds comprised approximately 0.1 percent of the total Covid-related deaths in the United States. Recent studies conducted in Sweden and Germany have also documented similar trends, with both analyses finding Covid fatalities among healthy children in each European country to be nearly nonexistent.

In addition to children not being super-spreaders of the virus, research shows the majority of American children have already recovered from Covid and therefore possess immunity to reinfection. According to the CDCs own data, approximately 75 percent of children in the United States have recovered from Covid. Numerous scientific studies have shown individuals previously infected with the virus possess robust natural immunity.

In light of such minimal risk to children and that the jabs dont stop individuals from getting or spreading the virus, medical professionals have begun to raise concerns about the U.S. governments push to vaccinate infants against Covid, given the risk of harmful side effects balanced against the potential benefits. While speaking with radio host Dan Bongino on Fox News, renowned cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough expressed dismay at the FDAs decision and noted the effects of the virus are characteristically a mild syndrome in children when compared to the elderly.

We know even if [the vaccines are] used in kids, there wont be any differences in rates of Covid-19 serious outcomes, he said, referencing two studies on the subject. Theres no reductions in hospitalizations and deaths in the randomized trials. And, Dan, we have no assurances that these are safe over the long term.

Dr. Marty Makary, a surgeon and public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University, also voiced concerns about the FDA and CDCs actions and criticized the data the health agencies cited as justification for their position.

There was NO STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE in the vaccine study cited by FDA &CDC to recommend the vax in babies through kids<5, Makary said in a tweet. Any respected medical journal would normally reject this study for publication. How does the CDC so vigorously recommend this with such strong language?

Makary later expanded upon his assessment in a recent Fox News op-ed, saying the studies cited by the federal government were too small to achieve statistical significance when evaluating efficacy against mild or severe COVID-19 infection.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a recent press conference also highlighted the medical concerns about giving healthy babies Covid shots.

We are not gonna have any [state] programs where were trying to jab 6-month-old babies with mRNA. Thats just the reality, he said, while referencing several data points on the subject. The White House is bragging that were the only country that is trying to do mRNA shots for infants Theres nothing wrong with being the lone ranger if youre right, but the other countries in Europe that are going a different direction, similar to the direction Floridas gone, they have been right on Covid way more than [Dr. Anthony] Fauci and his crew have been throughout this whole thing.

Germany and France, along with Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway, have all restricted the distribution of the Moderna Covid shots for individuals under the age of 30, all citing the documented risk of heart inflammation among young people as justification. Florida has also taken similar actions, with the states Department of Health becoming the first in the nation to recommend against the use of Covid shots for children back in March.

The willingness of DeSantis to listen to medical professionals who courageously raise questions about the CDC and FDAs decision-making process is a much-needed breath of fresh air. For too long, Americas health bureaucracy has operated with little oversight, with agencies like the CDC and FDA apparently functioning as rubber stamps for Big Pharma rather than legitimate scientific institutions.

While the decision to vaccinate ones child is an individual choice for parents, the blanket authorization from the CDC and FDA to jab infants against scientific evidence accepted by many scientists and peer nations deserves far greater scrutiny and investigation. Doing so, however, would mean acting in the best interests of their voters and the public, something Republicans frequently fail to do.

Shawn Fleetwood is an intern at The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood

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Why Aren't More Republicans Noting Risks Of Infant Covid Shots? - The Federalist