Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., criticized former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez on Wednesday, calling parts of her testimony on vaccines ridiculous.
“Does the COVID vaccine reduce the rate of death for children under 18?†the Kentucky senator asked at a hearing Wednesday of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
“It can,†the former CDC director replied.
“That’s ridiculous. Answer: No, it doesn’t. And there is no statistical evidence, but it does reduce the death rate. These are statistics. We’ve looked at it. When they approved it, they had this discussion at the vaccine committee that we’ve been talking about. During the discussion, they acknowledged that there was no proof of reduction in hospitalization or in death,†Paul said.
Monarez’s testimony before the Senate panel comes after being fired by the Trump administration for having “refused to resign despite informing [Health and Human Services] leadership of her intent to do so,†according to White House spokesman Kush Desai.
Monarez said at the hearing that she thought she was forced out of her job because of her disagreements over vaccine policies with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and for refusing a request from Kennedy to dismiss CDC vaccine experts “without cause.”
On Sept. 4, Kennedy testified before senators about Monarez’s dismissal.
“No, I told her that she had to resign because I asked her, ‘Are you a trustworthy person?’ And she said, ‘No,’†the HHS secretary told Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Monarez and her legal team disputed Kennedy’s testimony.
Paul, an ophthalmologist by profession, and Monarez, who holds a doctorate in microbiology and immunology, expressed stark disagreement over her testimony.
 “We should be discussing what is the childhood vaccine schedule. And you should be. The burden should be on you. You want to make all the kids take this. The burden is upon you, and the people you wouldn’t fire, to prove to us that we need to give our 6-month-old COVID vaccine, and that we need to give our 1-day-old a hepatitis B vaccine. That’s what the debate ought to be about, not whether all vaccines are good or whether we live in ‘Alice in Wonderland,‘ the Kentucky lawmaker told Monarez.
“I actually agree with you, and I was open to the science. I just would not precommit to approving all the ACIP [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices] recommendations without the science,†she replied.
“Untrue,†Paul countered.Â
The Kentucky senator also questioned Monarez about whether the COVID-19 vaccine prevented transmission.
“When you have reduced viral load, you will have reduced transmission,†Monarez responded.
“But in other words, it doesn’t prevent transmission. You can still transmit the virus if you’ve had the vaccine. In fact, there’s been reduced ability to interfere with transmission over time. And what we’ve found is the most recent one, since Omicron is down around 16% reduction,†Paul said.Â
“If there is a reduction, does the COVID vaccine reduce hospitalization for children under 18?†Paul asked.
“It can,†Monarez said.
“It doesn’t. The statistics are inconclusive. And the reason you can’t prove that it does is there’s so few people under 18 that go to the hospital. The numbers are extraordinarily small. There’s like 76 million kids under 18 in our country—183 died. A few thousand went to the hospital in 2020 and 2021. And since then, the numbers have dropped precipitously. And the idea and the issue needs to be discussed. But the COVID vaccine is not reducing hospitalization. It’s not statistically significant,†Paul said.
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