NEW YORK: The United States’ Food and Drug Administration said in an internal memo that at least 10 children had likely died “because of” Covid-19 vaccinations, citing myocarditis, or heart inflammation.
Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has sharply changed government policy on COVID-19 vaccines, limiting access to them to people 65 and older, as well as those with underlying conditions.
During Trump’s first term, when the pandemic erupted, and under his successor Joe Biden, US health officials strongly endorsed the vaccines as lifesaving.
According to the US media, Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s chief medical and scientific officer, did not reveal the children’s ages, medical conditions, or the vaccination manufacturers implicated in the note.
Additionally, Prasad was quoted as calling the finding “a profound revelation” and announcing plans to tighten vaccine oversight, including requiring randomised studies for all subgroups.
The findings of the new FDA review have not been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, the Media reported, adding that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine committee is to meet next week.
The memo, written by the FDA’s chief medical and scientific officer, Vinay Prasad, did not disclose the ages or health conditions of the children, or the vaccine manufacturers involved, the New York Times said.
(daily ausaf)