Shares in Pfizer and Moderna fell 3.9% and 7.4%, respectively, Friday after a report that the Trump administration plans to link the deaths of 25 children to COVID vaccines.
Trump health officials plan to include the claim in a presentation next week to a panel of advisors to the CDC that is considering new COVID vaccine recommendations, which can impact access to the shots and whether they’re free, according to the Washington Post.
Those deaths were seemingly gathered from information submitted to the government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, according to the report.
VAERS contains unverified reports of side effects from vaccines, which can be submitted from anyone like patients and doctors to pharmacists or even someone who sees a story on social media.
The system is not meant to actually verify whether an immunization caused a death.
The presentation is not yet final, a person familiar with the matter told the Washington Post.
“FDA and CDC staff routinely analyze VAERS and other safety monitoring data, and those reviews are being shared publicly through the established ACIP process,” Andrew Nixon, communications director of the Health and Human Services Department, told The Post.
“Until that is shared publicly, any of this should be considered pure speculation.”
Moderna and Pfizer did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
The vaccine advisory panel’s meeting next week is crucial, as it will help determine whether insurers must pay for the vaccines, as well as whether pharmacies can administer them and doctors are willing to offer them at their practices.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – who was recently grilled by senators from both parties at a tense hearing on vaccines – ousted every member of the vaccine panel earlier this year and replaced them with his own picks.
Health officials’ planned presentation for next week included attempts to interview some families, though it’s unclear what other information was used in preparation, according to the report.
In May, Kennedy ordered health officials to stop recommending the shots for healthy children, saying only people at high risk of complications from COVID or over age 65 need them.
The health agency also cancelled nearly $500 million in research funding on mRNA vaccines.
The CDC later advised parents to consult a doctor before getting their children vaccinated.
Several top officials at the CDC resigned in late August, claiming that Kennedy has ignored established research and politicized vaccine safety.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends annual COVID vaccines for children ages 6 to 23 months, and for older children, adding that the shots are safe and effective in protecting against serious outcomes.
