RFK Jr. Wants to Make COVID Great Again | Live with Dr. Rob Davidson & Susan J. Demas

Fall is in the air, at least if you live in the Midwest, like Dr. Rob Davidson and Lincoln Square Executive Editor Susan J. Demas do. And that means we’re heading into flu and COVID season. But if you want to get your new COVID booster, you may have to jump through new hoops this year, thanks to the anti-vaxxer-in-chief at the Department of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr.

Now he’s on the hot seat, testifying on Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee about the turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he fired the new director, Susan Monarez, who refused to go along with his policies against the COVID vaccine. That’s led to a wave of resignations.

You can listen to Senator Elizabeth Warren grill him below. (And for what it’s worth, Kennedy doesn’t exactly sound like a paragon of health).

But when he was going through his confirmation hearings earlier this year and facing skeptical Senators, including Dr. Bill Cassidy, Kennedy vowed that he wouldn’t interfere with your right to protect yourself against the disease that’s killed over 1.2 million Americans and 7 million worldwide.

"He made the promise that if you want a COVID vaccine, you can get one. And that promise has been broken,” Demas notes.

We knew something was up in June, when Kennedy replaced all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), many of which are anti-vaxxers like him. This panel provides guidance on vaccine use to the CDC.

Then in August, Kennedy announced the termination of emergency-use authorizations for COVID vaccines and new rules.

Here are the new guidelines:

• Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax immunizations were approved only for "those at high risk" and people over 65.

• Moderna vaccine was approved for children 6 months and older with an underlying condition and people over 65.

• Pfizer was approved for those 5 and older with an underlying condition and people over 65.

• Novavax was approved for those 12 and older with an underlying condition and people over 65.

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"It's really frustrating and a bit scary as an emergency doc ... who has seen the worst times during COVID,” Davidson says.

So what should you do if you still want the protection of your COVID booster but don’t meet these narrow criteria? Davidson says you should see if you have a high-risk condition and talk to your primary care physician who can prescribe the shot.

"Vaccines are the greatest single achievement in the 20th century for improving people's lives and improving people's health,” says Davidson.

Paging America Dr. Rob Davidson and Miles Baker explore the power, profit & politics shaping American health care. New podcast drops weekly. Project of the Committee to Protect Health Care.

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