Attorney General Mark Brnovich Pushes Back Against CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendation

Neil Jones

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) questioned the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for voting to put the COVID-19 vaccine on the recommended immunization schedule for children and the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program.

“Every month, it seems that we hear more revealing details about COVID-19 and strong critiques about our government’s initial beliefs and response,” said Brnovich in a press release. “For such relatively new and controversial vaccines to be added to the list of childhood immunizations at this point defies common sense and the rights of parents to decide what’s best for their families.”

The VFC is a federally funded program that provides vaccines to children from families that might not be able to afford them otherwise. The CDC purchases the vaccines used in the program at a discounted price. Anyone under the age of 19 who are Medicaid-eligible, uninsured, or Native American is eligible. The ACIP determines what vaccines can be offered in the program.

Fox News writer Kyle Becker shared on Twitter that the ACIP voted unanimously to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the VFC.

The ACIP also voted in favor of adding the vaccine to the recommended immunization schedule for children and adults. The schedule is not a mandate but a guide for doctors to use when deciding when a patient should receive a shot. The ACIP recommends everyone aged six months and older receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Brnovich and 11 other attorneys general from across the nation sent a letter to the ACIP outlining their concerns. Firstly, they argue adding this vaccine to the childhood immunization schedule “would make little sense” because children are at less risk of death from COVID-19. The schedule has vaccines for polio, measles, mumps, and rotavirus, and the generals argue these viruses present a more significant threat to children than COVID-19. Additionally, they also say the COVID-19 vaccine is not as effective as the other, as even with multiple shots, a person can still catch the virus.

Furthermore, Brnovich and the others argued that the vaccine being added to the VCP might pressure low-income families to give their children the vaccine, even though it can have adverse effects on children who take it.

“The evidence demonstrates that COVID-19 itself does not pose a harm to kids. Parents continue to have a choice as to vaccinating their children. So why put pressure on families to vaccinate their kids against a virus that poses little risk to them,” according to the letter. “Our Nation’s children are not the federal government’s guinea pigs. As a country that failed so many children over the last couple of years, we owe it to them and their parents to take a responsible path forward.”

The attorneys general ultimately ask the ACIP to reject this new decision.

Moreover, Brnovich is not the only one from Arizona who spoke out against the ACIP following its decision. Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters said the experts from the CDC should be held accountable.

“That’s what experts do. They expect to make every decision for you, then they expect to never ever be held responsible for the results,” Masters said. “They know Joe Biden and Mark Kelly won’t hold them responsible for anything. Well, look, when I’m in the Senate, and experts lie to us, they won’t get to keep on giving us more orders to follow. They’ll be fired.”

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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mark Brnovich” by Mark Brnovich. Background Photo “Child Getting Vaccinated” by CDC.

 

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