Rand Paul (Republican from Kentucky) accused the government of using a flawed approach to evaluate COVID-19 vaccines, failing to consider people’s past infections.
The Kentucky Republican suggested that this could be due to a number of reasons. Paul stated that members of the government vaccine committee have not disclosed, if any royalties, from vaccine companies. He said that if Republicans take control of the Senate in November’s midterm elections, they will investigate the matter.
Fauci replied that these committees were advisory committees of the CDC or FDA. Paul continues to ask about Fauci.
Paul replied that Fauci has not said which companies paid him royalties or gave royalties to other scientists.
Paul claimed that Fauci and other officials weren’t following established science because they didn’t consider the COVID-19 effects when examining vaccines. This led to Paul’s discussion about royalties from pharmaceutical corporations. Fauci began his segment with a 2004 interview in which he stated that the best way to prevent flu epidemics is to become infected.
Paul asked Fauci why this idea did not seem to be reflected by the government’s approach towards COVID-19.
Fauci said that he did not reject basic immunology, but he stated that he had “never denied the importance of protection after infection.” He said that the FDA and CDC both support the notion of “vaccination after infection giving an extra boost.”
Paul stated that the problem is that almost none of the studies done by the CDC or the government include the variable whether you have been infected previously.
