Former CDC Director Criticizes Panel Created by RFK Jr. Over Major Error

Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sharply criticized the agencys vaccine advisory panel on Friday for voting to abandon the longstanding recommendation that all newborns in the U.S. receive the hepatitis B vaccine.

This is a major error that could put American children at risk. Dont interfere with a successful program, Frieden, who led the CDC under President Barack Obama, stated during a CNN interview. Now president and CEO of the global health organization Resolve to Save Lives, Frieden pointed out that the universal vaccination guideline has not caused any significant harm to children in the 30 years since it was implemented.

On Friday, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, consisting of members selected by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted 8-3 to recommend the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine only for infants whose mothers test positive for the virus.

Hepatitis B, a liver infection, can result in serious conditions such as liver cancer, cirrhosis, and liver failure, particularly in children. Medical professionals have widely criticized the panels move to limit the recommendation.

Frieden underscored that the vaccine has prevented thousands, possibly millions, of infections among children. Hepatitis B is a severe infection and is not exclusively transmitted from mother to child. This is why the universal birth dose remains the standard of care, he emphasized. The panel is replacing science-based guidance with fiction-based suggestions, endangering childrens health.

He urged healthcare providers to disregard the guidance from the handpicked, unscientific group. Frieden added, I hope insurers, state agencies, cities, obstetricians, and pediatricians recognize that this recommendation lacks scientific credibility. It undermines the fundamental principles of effective vaccination, which are always administered with informed consent.

Author: Caleb Jennings