CDC can stand for many things: Conspiracy for Deceptive Calculations, Cartel for Democrats after Coronavirus -- and probably more. But one thing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should stand for is good science. Whether they do is up for debate, as public health experts like Dr. Martin Makary have criticized the agency for public health recommendations concerning vaccination of minors that are based on "very sloppy data." There's no expert consensus behind many CDC policies. But instead of welcoming open scientific dialogue and inquiry, Makary says, the CDC "dug in early" and "dismissed" any dissenting voices. The question is, why?
The Biden administration seems to sense the CDC is on shaky ground. Last week, in a bid to suppress what they called "misinformation" about vaccines, the White House pressured social media companies to increase their censorship, which they are always eager to do. YouTube even deleted a "Washington Watch" interview with a lawyer that didn't even take a position on vaccines (after first denying our appeal, YouTube restored the interview following media pressure). That interview, ironically, was about D.C. secretly vaccinating children at school. Why all the multi-layered, secret authoritarianism?
The "sit down and shut up" dialogue style only breeds suspicion that the virus' risks are magnified for political reasons. Nancy Pelosi's preservation of "proxy voting" beyond the end of the pandemic is clear political opportunism. But the Left can't admit vaccine hesitant people might be rational. In fact, the mainstream media would have you believe all public health dissenters are kooks. Kooks aren't professors at the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Public Health, like Dr. Makary, or get published in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Other leading dissenters work at Harvard and Stanford. "Follow the science" includes listening to science that refutes your preconceived notions. At the very least, the credentials of Makary and others should earn them a hearing.
And Makary makes a good case against the CDC. To justify vaccinating children, the CDC cites 335 COVID deaths in minors. The CDC never verified that these deaths were caused by COVID, said Makary, nor has it shown that healthy children are at the same risk as children with, say, leukemia. In a Johns Hopkins study of 48,000 COVID-positive children, "no healthy kid died of Covid." He said, "we're imposing tremendous restrictions" on children, but the CDC refuses to say what risk COVID poses to healthy children.
The CDC also ignores the benefits of "natural immunity from prior infection." Makary said if you've recovered from COVID, you probably don't need the vaccine -- although it can't hurt. But the CDC only considers immunity gained from shots in the arm, even though evidence continues to mount of the long-term efficacy of natural immunity. It's easy to see why many people recovered from COVID have decided they are immune. It's hard to see what the CDC, by simply ignoring natural immunity, has done to persuade them.
I have nothing against vaccines, but vaccine mandates are un-American and anti-freedom. Give people the information, and let them make an informed decision. You'll never be able to get consent through coercion. The Biden administration could make many good arguments to try and persuade more people to get the vaccine. Or they could revise their count to include natural immunity. Instead, they're spinning their wheels with two contradicting arguments: "get the shot, or we'll make you get it," or "please get the shot, we'll give you free stuff." If President Biden wants more Americans to get vaccinated, he should show more respect for their intelligence.
** This Sunday, July 25, I'll be preaching at the church of our good friend Pastor Gary Hamrick, Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. Join me for the 8:30, 10:00, or 11:45 a.m. services -- or watch the livestream here.
