In Line With Boss RFK’s Anti-Vaccine Stance, Vinay Prasad Says Covid Shot Killed Kids

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – Dr Vinay Prasad, the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine chief, ignited a political and scientific firestorm after circulating an internal memo that claimed at least ten children had died “after and because of” receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

The memo, which offered no underlying data, methodology, or case details, was first reported by the New York Times and later scrutinized in a CBS News investigation. According to CBS News, Prasad linked the deaths to myocarditis but did not disclose the children’s ages, medical histories, or how the FDA established causation. CBS News reported that no findings were published in a peer-reviewed journal and that experts reiterated the scientific consensus that the risk of myocarditis remains far higher after COVID19 infection than after vaccination.

The CBS News report noted that the memo alarmed career scientists because it contradicted extensive published data, including studies reviewed by pediatric cardiologists in 2023. Those studies found that vaccine associated myocarditis generally presents milder symptoms and has better outcomes than infection associated myocarditis.

Experts also emphasized that the risk decreases significantly when vaccine doses are spaced a year apart and becomes negligible if the primary series is completed before age five. The warnings on Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were expanded earlier this year to highlight myocarditis and pericarditis risks among males aged 16 to 25, although the FDA previously documented only about eight cases per million doses among people under 65.

Prasad’s memo landed amid broader political tensions around COVID19 vaccination. Under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, top FDA appointees have overridden career staff to curtail authorizations for Moderna and Novavax shots. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, now entirely composed of Kennedy appointees, shifted its guidance in September to emphasize personal choice rather than a blanket recommendation.

That change drew criticism from leading medical organizations, with the American Academy of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases Society of America continuing to urge vaccination for young children and for everyone six months and older. As national guidance has splintered, states formed regional alliances to issue their own recommendations.

Prasad joined the Trump administration after publicly criticizing the earlier federal pandemic response. His position came under intense political pressure this summer, culminating in his removal on July 29 after far right figures, including Laura Loomer, accused him of being insufficiently aligned on drug approvals and questioned his past political statements.

A subsequent push back by Kennedy, reports say, had  him reinstated after the review.