Letter to Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, James Comer, Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee - Rep. Roy and colleagues call on Republican committee leadership to investigate CDC COVID-19 child vaccine vote, other politicized decisions

Letter

Dear Ranking Member McMorris Rodgers and Ranking Member Comer,

As you are likely aware, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recently voted unanimously to add COVID-19 vaccines to the children's immunization schedule. This decision is concerning for multiple reasons and will only put the well-being of American families with school-aged children at further risk of their healthcare freedom while protecting pharmaceutical companies from any liability related to vaccine injuries. If Republicans are once again entrusted with the majority of the House of Representatives, congressional committees with oversight of the CDC should immediately begin investigations, host hearings, and hold accountable those involved in politically motivated decisions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This latest decision is but just one example.

The decision to include such a revision in the childhood immunization schedule is unwarranted. COVID-19 poses an extremely low risk of hospitalization and death to healthy children. According to the CDC, throughout the pandemic, the 0-17-year-old age group--which represents nearly a quarter of the population shared as little as 0.3% to as high as 4.8% of all COVID-19 associated hospitalizations in the U.S. Children also face an exceptionally low risk of death. One analysis found that the infection fatality rate for COVID-19 in children 0-19 is 0.0003%--this is 3 deaths per 1 million infections. It was also found that 100% of pediatric COVID-19 deaths were with children who had co-morbidities.

Further, studies show that children have an increased risk to COVID-19 vaccine side effects. For example, one study found that adverse cardiac events in boys aged 12-17 following their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine were higher than the risk of hospitalization from the virus. Another study found that among men under 40, the number of excess myocarditis events per million was higher after a second dose of the vaccine than after a positive COVID-19 test. Self-reporting through the VAERS system also raises questions on the COVID-19 vaccine safety. As of October 14, 2022, there have been 57,166 VAERS reports for children, including 161 deaths, 528 permanent disabilities, 1,962 cases of myocarditis, and 4,465 hospitalizations. Additionally, roughly 86% of children under the age of 17 have antibodies from a previous COVID-19 infection--natural immunity proved six times more effective than the vaccine during the Omicron variant. Notably, the CDC does not have guidance including natural immunity for this age.

Moreover, CDC guidance has been wrong before--leading to terrible outcomes for children. For example, the CDC's school guidance over preemptive school closures led to 100,000 public school closures for more than 8 weeks in 2020. We now face a devastating mental health and substance abuse crisis among America's youth. A substance abuse crisis that took the lives of 1,006 teenagers in 2020 alone--far more than the same age group who died from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. The CDC has also actively misled the American people throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, in August 2021, the CDC changed its definition of a vaccine from "produce immunity" to "produce protection. In March 2022, the CDC withheld hospitalization data by vaccine status, because agency personnel stated that the data may be misinterpreted. The CDC even chose to withhold data related to the spread of COVID-19 in hospitals in part out of "fears of embarrassing the hospitals."

This recent decision by the CDC to include COVID-19 vaccines in the childhood vaccine schedule--and thereby pressuring states to implement this recommendation--should be questioned and fully scrutinized by Congress. No child should ever be faced with losing his or her education over a clearly and undeniably politicized vaccine. Every parent should have the full freedom to choose whether it makes sense for his or her child to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Decisions such as these are personal and do not require the "recommendation" of the federal government. Notably, the Biden Administration has continually shown that it believes government is a better decision-maker for children than parents and legal guardians.

As you consider the numerous failures of the public health apparatus, we strongly urge you to immediately investigate and hold to account the people responsible for brazen political decisions with the potential to impact our children with irreversible harm. The U.S. government should respect the decisions of American families, and not pressure States to issue an ultimatum that jeopardizes children's access to primary and secondary education. Congress should ensure this is the case.

Thank you for attention to this matter.