Kennedy allies take aim at Monarez

Republican allies of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attacked former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez during a Senate Health Committee hearing on Wednesday about the agency’s leadership.

Several GOP senators questioned Monarez sharply about her willingness to reconsider vaccine guidance.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), an ophthalmologist, led the way, pressing Monarez on the Covid-19 shot’s efficacy in children under 18 and the need for newborns to receive the hepatitis B vaccine when their mothers aren’t infected.

“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,” Paul said. “That’s what the debate ought to be about — not whether all vaccines are good, or whether we live in Alice in Wonderland.”

Kennedy cheered Paul’s remarks in a social media post. “Thank you, @SenRandPaul,” he wrote on X.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), an OB/GYN and founder of the Make America Healthy Again Caucus in the Senate, accused the CDC of fueling vaccine hesitancy by pushing recommendations that function as “mandates.”

“Your attitude here that every person needs every vaccine is completely contrary to Secretary Kennedy’s philosophy and the mission of the president,” he said to Monarez.

WIKI

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection.

Many people have no symptoms after exposure. For others, symptoms may appear 30 to 180 days after exposure and can include a rapid onset of sickness with nausea, vomiting, yellowish skin, fatigue, yellow urine, and abdominal pain.

Transmission of hepatitis B virus results from exposure to infectious blood or body fluids containing blood.

China’s HBV infection rate is at the higher end of the moderate prevalence classification with an infection rate of 6.89% as of 2019. HBV prevalence in India is also moderate, with studies placing India’s infection rate between 2-4%.

Countries with low HBV prevalence include Australia (0.9%), those in the WHO European Region (which average 1.5%), and most countries in North and South America (which average 0.28%). In the United States, an estimated 0.26% of the population was living with HBV infection as of 2018.

In populations where HBV infection rates are 8% or higher, which are classified as high prevalence, vertical transmission (usually occurring during birth) is most common, though rates of early childhood transmission can also be significant among these populations.

Children are less likely than adults to clear the infection. More than 95% of people who become infected as adults or older children will stage a full recovery and develop protective immunity to the virus. However, this drops to 30% for younger children, and only 5% of newborns that acquire the infection from their mother at birth will clear the infection. This population has a 40% lifetime risk of death from cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma.

Across Europe, hepatitis B and C cause approximately 50% of hepatocellular carcinomas.

Although none of the available medications can clear the infection, they can stop the virus from replicating, thus minimizing liver damage. As of 2024, there are seven medications licensed for the treatment of hepatitis B infection in the United States. These include antiviral medications lamivudine, adefovir, tenofovir disoproxil, tenofovir alafenamide, telbivudine, and entecavir, and the two immune system modulators interferon alpha-2a and PEGylated interferon alpha-2a. In 2015, the World Health Organization recommended tenofovir or entecavir as first-line agents. Those with current cirrhosis are in most need of treatment.

Vaccines for the prevention of hepatitis B have been routinely recommended for babies since 1991 in the United States. The first dose is generally recommended within a day of birth. The hepatitis B vaccine was the first vaccine capable of preventing cancer, specifically liver cancer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis_B

I would think babies would have mommy’s blood flowing through them for nearly nine months since it would be the only way to get enough oxygen. If mommy had it, I would think the baby would have jaundice.

I see from the above near zero chance of the Hep B virus passing from a natural-born US citizen Caucasian mother to her baby. The vaccine is probably given to such babies because it would protect against unsafe lifestyles in later years.

Vaccine Injury Table [excerpts]

the following is a table of vaccines, the injuries, disabilities, illnesses, conditions, and deaths resulting from the administration of such vaccines,
and the time period in which the first symptom or manifestation of onset or of the significant aggravation of such injuries, disabilities, illnesses, conditions, and deaths is to occur after vaccine administration
for purposes of receiving compensation under the Program

Vaccines containing whole cell pertussis bacteria, extracted or partial cell pertussis bacteria, or specific pertussis antigen(s) (e.g., DTP, DTaP, P, DTP-Hib)
- Encephalopathy or encephalitis - ≤72 hours

Vaccines containing measles virus
(e.g., MMR, MM, MMRV)
- Thrombocytopenic purpura - 7-30 days (not less than 7 days and not more than 30 days)
- Vaccine-Strain Measles Viral Disease in an immunodeficient recipient

Vaccines containing measles, mumps, and rubella virus or any of its components
(e.g., MMR, MM, MMRV)
- Encephalopathy or encephalitis - 5-15 days (not less than 5 days and not more than 15 days)

Vaccines containing rubella virus
(e.g., MMR, MMRV)
- Chronic arthritis - 7-42 days (not less than 7 days and not more than 42 days)

Varicella vaccines
- Disseminated varicella vaccine-strain viral disease

Vaccines containing tetanus toxoid
(e.g., DTaP, DTP, DT, Td, or TT)
- Brachial Neuritis - 2-28 days (not less than 2 days and not more than 28 days)

https://www.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/hrsa/vicp/vaccine-injury-table-01-03-2022.pdf

WIKI

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a blood disorder that results in blood clots forming in small blood vessels throughout the body. This results in a low platelet count, low red blood cells due to their breakdown, and often kidney, heart, and brain dysfunction. Symptoms may include large bruises, fever, weakness, shortness of breath, confusion, and headache.

As TTP progresses, blood clots form within small blood vessels (microvasculature), and platelets (clotting cells) are consumed. As a result, bruising, and rarely bleeding can occur. The bruising often takes the form of purpura, while the most common site of bleeding, if it occurs, is from the nose or gums. Larger bruises (ecchymoses) may also develop. The classic presentation of TTP, which occurs in less than 10% of people, includes five medical signs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrombotic_thrombocytopenic_purpura

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