Sen Cruz, Rep Roy demand answers from FDA on decision to bypass vaccine safety committee for approving boosters for children, teens
WASHINGTON—On Tuesday, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) were joined by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and 21 members of Congress in demanding answers about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recent decision to bypass safety measures to approve the COVID-19 vaccine booster for children and teenagers
In a letter to the agency's Acting Commissioner, Janet Woodcock, the legislators questioned the "extremely puzzling" and "quite troubling" decision to approve the boosters for 12- to- 15-year-olds without convening the FDA's Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC).
"The FDA has a responsibility to work to protect our nation's children by ensuring the data and science show this booster vaccine is safe for 12- to 15-year-olds,"the letter reads. "Children are still growing and developing, and these are relevant factors for consideration to ensure that this additional vaccine dosage is appropriate, especially as early teens in the 12 to 15 age group are at extremely low-risk for death and hospitalization from COVID-19."
As the letter points out, COVID-19 poses an extremely low risk of death or hospitalization to children. According to the CDC, there have been 267 COVID-19 deaths in the 12 to 15 age group since the onset of the pandemic. Comparatively, there have been more than 188,000 in the 75-84 age group and more than 200,000 in the 85 and older age group.
"We owe it to Americans to stand up against bureaucrat-driven policies that take away power and information from parents to make good choices for their children. The FDA's unusual decision to bypass the committee approval process puts children at risk.," Rep. Chip Roy said. "The accumulation of mistaken federal policies carried out by executive fiat in response to the pandemic- from lockdowns, to perpetual masking, and rushed vaccine policies - deeply concern me. I am proud to join Senator Cruz in demanding answers."
"Democrats from Joe Biden all the way down to county and city officials have spent the last two years trying to stop parents from choosing what's best for their children by closing schools, imposing authoritarian mandates, and selectively enforcing lockdowns,"Sen. Cruz said. "These petty tyrants have shamefully vilified and persecuted the parents who dared to challenge them. Parents are right to stand up for the kids and demand answers and accountability, and I'm proud to fight for them."
Cosigners of the letter include Sens. Mike Lee (UT) and Ron Johnson (WI) and Reps. Bob Good (VA-05), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Mary Miller (IL-15), Lauren Boebert (CO-03), Jody Hice (GA-10), Michael Cloud (TX-27), Ralph Norman (SC-05), Bill Posey (FL-08), Randy Weber (TX-14), Matt Gaetz (FL-01), Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Van Taylor (TX-03), Mo Brooks (AL-05), Dusty Johnson (SD-AL), Thomas Massie (KY-04), Ronny Jackson (TX-14), Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), Vicky Hartzler (MO-04), Warren Davidson (OH-08), Dan Bishop (NC-09), and Brian Babin (TX-36).
Full text of the letter is available at the link here.
###