Tennessee House Leaders Ask Gov. Lee to Halt Vaccine Rollout for Children Under Five

Tennessee’s Republican House leaders this week penned a letter to Governor Bill Lee (R) asking him to halt the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for children under the age of five.

“Governor, the COVID-19 emergency has long passed in Tennessee,” the letter, penned by State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Farragut), said. “Based on the data in the FDA’s own 66-page report, there is no concrete basis for amended emergency authorization to vaccinate small children.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently approved the vaccine for young children.

“We ask that you direct the Tennessee Department of Health to halt distribution, promotion or recommendation of COVID-19 vaccines for our youngest Tennesseans,” the letter continued.

“We simply cannot recommend injecting an mRNA vaccine into children who have never been at serious risk from death or hospitalization from COVID-19,” the letter said. “We do not know the short-term and long-term impact on their development and overall health.”

House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Gallatin), and House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison (R-Newport) joined Zachary in signing the letter.

The letter raised numerous concerns about the vaccine trial for young children.

“Why did only two-thirds of the 4,526 children recruited by the FDA not complete the trial?” the letter asked. “Was their data thrown out to fit a pre-determined conclusion?”

It asked why the data did not show a reduction in severe illness among children who received the vaccine, and why approval was granted when “the manufacturer’s own trial shows zero benefit to children.”

“The FDA’s own risk benefit assessment showed a 30% increased chance of contracting COVID-19 in children vaccinated after the first dose compared to those in the placebo group,” the letter said. “Why was this overlooked?”

As The Star News Network extensively reported, questions have swirled about the COVID-19 vaccine – and not just about its health risks or benefits.

In December, The Star reported that Pfizer was still distributing its “Emergency Use Authorization” (EUA) vaccine to the American public, despite the fact that its separate COVID-19 vaccine –brand name Comirnaty – had been fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

That full FDA approval was used to justify controversial vaccine mandates, when in fact that fully approved version of the vaccine was not available.

Pfizer said at the time that the EUA vaccine and its fully FDA-approved counterpart were “interchangeable.”

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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Bill Lee” by Bill Lee.