Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is set to require placebo tests for all vaccines moving forward.

Washington

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced a new policy requiring placebo-controlled trials for all new vaccines before they are approved for use. This requirement, which has been advocated by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is designed to ensure that vaccines are thoroughly evaluated for long-term effects. The policy extends to both mRNA technologies and traditional live vaccines for diseases such as measles and influenza. 

The decision has elicited varied reactions within the medical community. Some experts, like Dr. Sagal Ash, believe this move will promote transparency and help regain public trust in vaccines. However, there are concerns about the ethical implications of placebo trials, particularly for well-established vaccines, as participants in the placebo group would not receive the actual vaccine, which could be problematic during outbreaks.

Placebo testing involves administering the vaccine to one group while providing a placebo to another, enabling a direct comparison of health outcomes and side effects between vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups. The policy aims to address concerns from parents and some medical professionals about potential health implications of the numerous vaccine doses children receive by the age of 18.



RFK Jr. to require placebo tests for all vaccines

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it will now require all new vaccines to be tested in placebo-controlled trials before they are licensed for use. We've got Dr. Sagal Ash with us now. Dr. Ash, could the policy change raise questions about clearing its use like for things like the COVID booster, if you will? Yeah, absolutely. So this is something different than we've ever seen and some might call it unnecessary, but others see this as a chance to increase transparency and rebuild public trust because RFK is doing this for new vaccines, but also vaccines that are traditionally used for known illnesses like measles as well. So same with COVID boosters. What you're saying is it's not just for mRNA-type vaccines, but also live vaccines that we've known for decades? Exactly. And usually they'll test them against existing vaccines or non-placebo, but now we're doing placebo to understand more long-term effects. So walk us through what that means. What is placebo testing and why is this important? Absolutely. So placebo testing is when one group gets the vaccine and another group doesn't get it. And there's a lot going on here that why they brought on this policy. So parents are raising concerns about vaccines. Post-COVID, we've raised a lot of concerns about vaccines. Most people don't realize that by the time children turn six, they've received over 50 doses of vaccines and often before their immune systems are fully developed. And by 18, over 70 doses. So that's why RFK is raising a lot of these questions and trying to do these placebo trials so we understand the long-term effects. And also kids who have autoimmune disease or are more sensitive, come up with a lot more side effects after getting vaccines. So we're raising these questions and it's not wrong to ask if we're evaluating every factor that's contributing to our health crisis, our chronic immune burden, chronic health burden in America. So other than requiring a placebo test, is anything being altered or changed? Is this just in addition to other testing requirements for these vaccines or is the medical community, do they disagree with placebo testing? I mean, are people upset about this? Some people are. Yeah, some people are because there's some ethical questions. So if you're doing a placebo trial, then those patients who are just receiving placebo and not receiving the vaccine might not be able to get the vaccine, right? And if you're holding off new vaccines like a new flu variant, then that's the ethical question. So there's probably a bit of a split in the medical community. I think there are some doctors that are really happy to see this because we do need to increase transparency. We do need to rebuild public trust in vaccines. You know, I'm not anti-vaccine, I'm totally pro-vaccine, but we want it to be bio-individualized for each patient, understanding their genetics, you know, understanding who's going to respond better to which vaccine. How is this different from like a clinical trial when they come out and roll out something new and test it where there's always a group that doesn't get it? Would that be the same ethical question in a placebo test? It's not, similar ones, but you know, usually when they're trying out a drug like that, there aren't as many ethical issues because if we're using vaccines that have already been existent, like a flu variant or a measles one, and you're withholding that, that's more the ethical question. Because we know that they're true and tried and they can work and potentially unstudied, whereas a clinical trial, you don't know the effect of the drug, so it's still up in the air whether or not that person is missing out on it. I mean, I think a lot to break down here. To your point, a lot is changing with this new administration. Things are being done differently. We'll see if in fact they are correct. Thank you so much, Dr. Ash. We appreciate it. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Absolutely. Good to see you, Marina.

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