I believe that some vaccines are among the most effective medical interventions to save lives. But I also believe in free choice, and that the government should be transparent in admitting the side-effects that occur, to varying degrees, with all vaccines. So I was puzzled and annoyed by the article quoted below on a CDC panel vote to withdraw support for immediate vaccination of neonates against hepatitis B. One of those seeking withdrawal of support for the vaccine cited “vaccine-injury claims paid out by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program” as evidence of side-effects. Then we get to the part that puzzles and annoys me: “the federal government has said that such settlements shouldn’t be used to draw conclusions about vaccine safety.”
Why not? It’s not the only relevant evidence, but it is relevant evidence. Why should we exclude it? Because it goes against the federal government’s status quo mandate? If there is a better reason, the article does not mention it.
(p. A1) A key vaccine panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted 8-3 to nix a recommendation that all newborns be given a first dose of hepatitis B vaccine.
. . .
(p. A4) The newly appointed acting director of the drugs division at the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, suggested to the panel that hepatitis B vaccines shouldn’t be given to children at all. She pointed to other countries including Denmark that don’t recommend the hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns. CDC scientist Adam Langer said many of those other countries including Denmark have national health systems, in which it is easier to screen and track infected mothers.
[Mark Blaxill, a longtime antivaccine activist who now works at the CDC] argued that vaccine-injury claims paid out by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program showed that the hepatitis B vaccine causes harm. But the federal government has said that such settlements shouldn’t be used to draw conclusions about vaccine safety.
For the full story see:
(Note: ellipsis added; the words in brackets are from a couple of paragraphs earlier in the article.)
(Note: the online version of the story has the date December 5, 2025, and has the title “CDC Panel Remade by RFK Jr. Votes to Alter Hepatitis B Vaccine Guidance.”)