Brian Kilmeade: The government is sowing doubt in the vaccines by recommending booster shots
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From the August 24, 2021, edition of Fox and Friends
BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): [President Joe Biden] wants to talk about anything but Afghanistan, right? Is this just an attempt to distract the American people away from that crisis? That's the argument my next guest makes in his new op-ed. Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marty Makary joins us right now.
Doctor, what makes you think politics is getting into his medical remarks?
MARTY MAKARY (FOX NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR): Good morning Brian. Well, first of all, medical advice is sacred. It should not be used to distract from headlines. And if you look at what happened, within hours of the viral video of the Afghan airport, the White House leaked to The New York Times and Washington Post that they were going to announce the next day boosters for all Americans despite no evidence to support that it reduces severe illness and without any CDC or FDA guidance on it. They have to vote and make that formal label. And they said they're going to do that in the future, in 30 days. Who does that? And every single day since that viral video, there's been a massive announcement, either about cloth masks and kids or mandates, and then three days after the viral video, about the FDA is going to approve the vaccine after sitting on it for nine months.
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KILMEADE: You have the booster shot one day and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the FDA is going to give full approval to the Pfizer vaccine. And that becomes a leak and then that becomes an announcement. Do you believe the timing is curious?
MAKARY: Well both the boosters for all Americans and the FDA announcement were both leaked, and normally we don't have any FDA approvals that are leaked that deliberately, with that much preface before they come out. So look, it's a common practice in politics to drop news headlines to distract. But it should not be done with medical guidance and that violates the great public trust in the profession.
KILMEADE: Dr. Makary, we spent all this time, we're going back and forth on politics and medicine and how did it get this way. They're playing into it. They make people doubt because they look at this timing and they say wait a second. Does it really get full FDA approval? Is it really– do we really need a booster shot? What are we worried about? Mild cold symptoms for the vaccinated? Are we trying to stop mild cold symptoms? Is that the issue? Where is the study? Are we going by Israel?
MAKARY: I could tell you a lot of doctors, I would say the majority of doctors in the United States were perplexed at the broad recommendation that they announce they're going to make in over a month about boosters for everybody because the data right now shows that you get mild symptoms, that is common cold symptoms and that is increasing over time after vaccination. Interestingly, not with natural immunity by the way. But there is no evidence that you get hospitalized or have an increased risk of dying or severe illness over time. That immunity may still be solid. So, let's wait for the data before we make broad recommendations for everybody.
KILMEADE: Absolutely. And by the way, do we know if any vaccinated people have died on breakthrough ailments?
MAKARY: We're not seeing it, Brian. And the idea that somehow, you know, that could happen, we have not seen that; if it happens, it's infinitesimally rare.
KILMEADE: Right. So we'll see. And just real quick: Moderna. Why Pfizer first? What are they waiting on at Moderna for full FDA approval?
MAKARY: First of all, many of us were saying back in March these things needed full approval. The American people needed that faith and seal of the U.S. regulatory bodies. This is all way late, but Moderna filed three weeks after Pfizer. So we'll see that in a few weeks. And then, J&J to follow soon after.