Amid the administration’s current anti-science, Christian nationalist craze, has come an alarming announcement from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (“God sent me President Trump”) that could jeopardize Covid-19 fall booster availability, as well as future vaccine development.
Kennedy announced that he plans to require unnecessary placebo testing of Covid-19 boosters. (The original Covid-19 vaccines were placebo-tested and are tweaked to target evolving new strains. Placebo testing is not required, for example, with flu boosters.) Alarmingly, he also wants to severely restrict the superlative mRNA technology that brought us such marvelous protections against the recent pandemic from future vaccine development.
Tens of thousands of Americans could die without protection from Covid if the boosters are delayed or not released. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 23,000 deaths from Covid since September 2024, but that as many as 68,000 hospitalizations were averted by boosters over the past two years. The boosters are essential for the immunocompromised and those 65 and older.
Freedom From Religion Foundation members (whose average age is 66) overwhelmingly support science and reject Kennedy’s conspiracy theories and anti-vax positions. Please demand that your two senators and your U.S. representative take action to pressure the Food and Drug Administration to protect the nation’s health from anti-vax fringe quackery. That includes Kennedy’s inaction on the bird flu and the growing measles epidemic that has already killed two children. Demand that we trust in science!
Read more about Kennedy’s announcement.
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