FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CDC ‘Cover-Up’: Rep. Green Revives Vaccine Transparency Bill
Read the exclusive by Emily Hallas in the Washington Examiner here
WASHINGTON—Today, in light of the interim report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations revealing the Biden-era Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) concealment and downplaying of COVID-19 vaccine myocarditis risks, Rep. Mark Green, MD, re-introduced the Vaccines in Trial and Liability (VITAL) Act. The legislation aims to protect Americans from fraudulent vaccine trial data.
Rep. Green said: “The Biden CDC actively deceived the American people—simultaneously pushing a vaccine mandate it knew put young men in danger and ruining those same young men’s military careers. I’m re-introducing the VITAL Act to bring accountability and oversight to the vaccine approval process. As a physician, I understand that when trust is abused to deceive patients, the entire system breaks down. We cannot allow institutions, public or private, to take advantage of the sacred trust between doctors and patients.
Doctors rely on accurate vaccine trial data to treat patients. Without it, their patients’ health could be at risk. According to the Senate report, ‘As early as February 2021, officials at the CDC appear to have begun to receive reports regarding myocarditis in young adults following COVID-19 vaccination. By May 2021, health officials at HHS discussed whether to issue a formal warning regarding the risk of myocarditis…’ On May 17, 2021, the CDC’s COVID-19 VaST Work Group noted in their public meeting summary that members ‘felt that information about reports of myocarditis should be communicated to providers.’
On May 24th NBC reported that there were “at least 16 cases of apparent heart problems in young people in Connecticut after they received the COVID vaccine. NPR reported that as of June 23, 2021 an estimated 7 million Americans ages 12-17 had received the COVID-19 vaccine and more than 300 Americans ages 12-39 had reported myocarditis. By May 2021, at least one source reported 487 cases of myocarditis, pericarditis, or myopericarditis.
Despite the warnings and the science, the Biden-Harris administration continued to advise young people to get vaccinated. A misleading CNN report from May 25, 2021 admits why the Biden administration dragged its feet, stating, ‘Pediatricians worry parents will misinterpret a finding by advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and become scared—for no reason—to vaccinate their children against COVID-19.’ It also makes clear that even at this late stage, the CDC was trying to downplay the risks of myocarditis, stating that the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices investigated reports of heart ailments among people and concluded that the rates of myocarditis ‘were not higher among people who had been vaccinated.’ The Biden-Harris CDC failed to provide a formal, urgent warning to Americans who may be most at risk of myocarditis, provide guidelines for evaluating vaccine health risks, and dismissed the concerns of ordinary citizens.
The CDC did not change the label to reflect the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis until June 25, 2021. It's clear that Biden officials delayed for over a month in hopes that more younger Americans would get vaccinated—and that’s exactly what happened. Between April 19, 2021 and June 21, 2021—the CDC reported that 34% of adults aged 18-39 years had received the COVID vaccine. That is millions of young people in the U.S. who put themselves at risk without knowing all the facts. This is unacceptable and there must be much greater transparency in future.
I am confident that many physicians would have given much different medical advice during that month had they been told the truth about the health risks associated with these vaccines and that parents and patients alike may have made different decisions.
I agree with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to remove the CDC’s COVID vaccine recommended for children without respiratory issues. This is a move in the right direction, but it does not solve the underlying problems about transparency and the Biden administration’s coverup.
As I stated at the time, taking a vaccine is a decision for each American to make—with their doctor—not under coercion from the government. Yet the Biden administration and countless other local and state governments did just that, even knowing the risks to young people. In fact, the Biden administration mandated the vaccine for all federal workers. At the time I sent a letter to the former president calling on him to rescind his “unconstitutional federal mandate.” It stated,
‘By unilaterally dictating that every business with over 100 employees impose a vaccine-or-test mandate, your Administration is punishing millions who have decided not to get vaccinated, many of whom have acquired natural immunity. Yet your Administration continues to ignore the scientific consensus that recognizes the long-lasting protection natural immunity provides.’
Rep. Green continued, “Knowing what we now do, the fact that servicemembers, most of whom were under the age of 30, were dishonorably discharged for refusing the vaccine is egregious. That’s why I fought to protect servicemembers with my congressional resolution and FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment.
I’m grateful President Trump reinstated previously-discharged servicemembers. Conversely, the Biden-Harris administration issued pardons for those responsible for years of lies and coverups about the health risks to young men. There must be accountability for all involved in the decision-making process to withhold critical information related to these vaccines from the American people.”
Read the bill text here.
Background: The VITAL Act mandates that any company that lies about its trial data will have all liability waivers removed. If the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary discovers fraudulent statements or concealment of trial data, the department can remove liability protection should that company have that protection issued under an emergency usage authorization. This legislation is essential for the oversight and transparency of vaccine companies and the trial data they use to obtain Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs). Companies that make fraudulent statements or hide the truth will open themselves up to fines and criminal proceedings by both the federal government as well as civil lawsuits. This is a critical level of accountability for the American people.
According to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations interim report titled, “Failure to Warn: How Federal Health Agencies Downplayed the Risk of Myocarditis and Other Adverse Events Following COVID-19 Vaccination,” from Chairman Ron Johnson, U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations:
“Rather than provide the public and health care providers with immediate and transparent information regarding the risk of myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration waited until late June 2021 to announce changes to the labels for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines based on the ‘suggested increased risks’ of myocarditis and pericarditis. Even though CDC and FDA officials were well aware of the risk of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration opted to withhold issuing a formal warning to the public for months about the safety concerns, jeopardizing the health of young Americans.”
“Even though CDC and FDA officials were well aware of the risk of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration opted to withhold issuing a formal warning to the public for months about the safety concerns, jeopardizing the health of young Americans.”
“In late May 2021, draft meeting notes exchanged between U.S. public health officials included the question: ‘Is VAERS signaling for myopericarditis now?’; and the answer: ‘For the age groups 16-17 years and 18-24 years, yes.’”
Read about Rep. Green’s introduction of the VITAL Act in the 118th Congress here.
Read Rep. Green’s letter to former President Biden calling out the blatant hypocrisy of President Biden’s unconstitutional federal vaccine mandates here.
Read Rep. Green’s letter to former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin regarding vaccine mandates for servicemembers here.
Read about Rep. Green’s Amendment to the FY2022 NDAA to ban dishonorable discharges for servicemembers who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine here.
Read Rep. Green’s letter to former President Biden expressing his concern over unequal and unjust enforcement of Executive Orders 14043, “Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees,” and 14042, “Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors” here.
Read Rep. Green’s statement on the Supreme Court blocking the federal government's COVID-19 vaccine-or-test requirement for large workplaces here
Read about Rep. Green’s amendment to the FY2023 NDAA to protect National Guard and Reserve troops from being prohibited from paid training or education programs simply for their refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine here.
Read Rep. Green’s statement celebrating the repeal of the coronavirus military vaccine mandate, and numerous key priorities included in the FY2023 NDAA here.
Read Rep. Green’s Resolution opposing punishment for servicemembers who choose not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine here.
Green was a flight surgeon for the Army’s premier special operations aviation regiment, the 160th SOAR. He’s a member of the House GOP Doctors Caucus, the Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, Chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Colorectal Cancer Caucus, and founder of an emergency room staffing company and two medical clinics in Memphis and Clarksville, Tennessee.
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