A Food and Drug Administration advisor admitted this week that the agency wants parents to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19 to determine how safe the shot is.
Eric Ruben, a Harvard Medical School professor and advisor on one of the FDA’s influential panels, made the comment during a virtual meeting this week.
Ruben was asked why parents should take their children to get the shot since COVID-19 does not pose a risk to their age group.
The question was: “Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outweigh its risks for use in children 5-11 years of age.”
Ruben replied: “We’re never going to learn about how safe this vaccine is until we start giving it. That’s just the way this goes.”
The panel later unanimously voted to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11.
This vote was the first step in the agency’s regulatory process. Now, FDA officials have to officially sign off on the vaccines’ approval. The decision will then head to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where a CDC panel will meet to discuss the same data reviewed by the FDA’s advisers.
“If all goes well, and we get the regulatory approval, and the recommendations from the CDC, it’s entirely possible, if not, very likely, that vaccines will be available for children from 5 to 11 within the first week or two of November,” COVID czar Anthony Fauci said on Sunday.
However, parents reacted to the news by saying Ruben’s comments prove why children should not get the vaccine:
I love my kids so they will not be receiving this vaccination https://t.co/eRvjhupp2S
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) October 27, 2021
This is, almost as explicit as possible, an argument against mandating this vaccine. https://t.co/A7I6LDuZNl
— Tim Carney (@TPCarney) October 27, 2021
FDA official says “we have to use the vaccine on kids so we can see how safe it is.” (see below) Yep, that about sums it up. Ya know what buddy? Stay the F away from my kids. #LetsGoBrandon https://t.co/2XV5yw2Uig
— John Rich (@johnrich) October 27, 2021
