President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he has selected Susan Monarez, the current acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to be the agency&#8217;s permanent head.
&#8220;I am proud to announce that Dr. Susan Monarez is my Nominee to serve as the next Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),&#8221; Trump wrote on social media. &#8220;Dr. Monarez brings decades of experience championing Innovation, Transparency, and strong Public Health Systems.&#8221;
The news comes after Trump withdrew his first nominee for the role, Dr. Dave Weldon, just hours before his Senate confirmation hearing that was scheduled earlier this month.
&#8220;As an incredible mother and dedicated public servant, Dr. Monarez understands the importance of protecting our children, our communities, and our future,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Americans have lost confidence in the CDC due to political bias and disastrous mismanagement.&#8221;
Monarez — who has a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and Postdoctoral training in Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine — will work &#8220;closely with our GREAT Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr,&#8221; Trump added.
&#8220;Together, they will prioritize Accountability, High Standards, and Disease Prevention to finally address the Chronic Disease Epidemic and, MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!&#8221; he said.
Trump had tapped Weldon, a former Republican congressman from Florida, to lead the agency in November, but ended up <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-names-former-florida-congressman-cdc-director" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pulling</a> his nomination on March 13th because it was not clear that he was going to have enough Republican support to make it through the confirmation process.
In a lengthy statement, Weldon blamed the pharmaceutical industry for his nomination being tanked, saying that he was viewed &#8220;very negatively by the industry&#8221; despite using pharmaceuticals &#8220;on a daily basis to help my patients.&#8221;

President Trump Holds Cabinet Meeting

Trump Taps New Nominee For CDC Director After Pulling First Choice

Donald Trump

Executive

Politics

Trump Administration

The White House on Thursday withdrew the nomination of former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mere hours before Weldon was slated to appear before the Senate for a confirmation hearing.
Reports indicate that Weldon was pulled just before the now-canceled hearing because he didn&#8217;t have the votes to be confirmed. A Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/white-house-to-withdraw-weldon-as-cdc-nominee-31df5b8f?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> noted that Weldon was unaware of the withdrawal until 9 a.m. Thursday morning, when a Journal reporter contacted him.
Weldon, a physician who served in Congress from 1995 to 2009, has routinely expressed skepticism about the safety of vaccinations, not unlike Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In 2007, Weldon proposed a bill that would have transferred vaccine safety oversight from the CDC to an independent agency within HHS. He also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/13/dave-weldon-cdc-nomination-withdrawn?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that there could be a link between vaccinations and the rise in autism, which is reportedly set to be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kennedys-cdc-to-reportedly-study-potential-link-between-vaccines-and-autism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">studied</a> by the CDC under RFK.
The withdrawal comes amid the ongoing measles outbreak in Texas, which has put a spotlight on vaccines under Kennedy&#8217;s leadership and possibly added scrutiny to Weldon&#8217;s confirmation chances. The former congressman reportedly softened his take on vaccine safety during private conversations with senators, though he still apparently couldn&#8217;t muster up enough support.
There have been a total of 223 confirmed cases of measles in Texas since late January. Twenty-nine people have been hospitalized, with <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/texas-measles-outbreak-fueled-distrust-public-health-personal-119419119">one death</a> of a school-aged child. Most infections have impacted children in the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/27/health/mennonite-texas-measles/index.html">Mennonite population</a>.
Kennedy has said the <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/cdc-team-assisting-texas-measles-outbreak-case-total-rises">outbreak</a> must elicit a “<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/robert-f-kennedy-jr-measles-outbreak-call-action-all-us">call to action</a>” from all to affirm our &#8220;commitment to public health.&#8221; He&#8217;s reportedly sent thousands of doses of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine to Texas while educating parents on treatments post-infection and nutrition. 
&#8220;What we’re trying to do is really to restore faith in government, and to make sure that we are there to help them with their needs and not particularly to dictate what they ought to be doing,&#8221; RFK <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6369595673112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Fox News. 
Despite the extra attention on vaccines, Kennedy has already made several changes. For example, he&#8217;s <a href="https://apnews.com/article/childhood-vaccines-schedule-kennedy-trump-hhs-4d5e6c52c602f5edbcd837748605e9d0">indicated</a> that he’ll effectively review the childhood vaccination schedule by investigating vaccines — as well as pesticides, food additives, microplastics, and antidepressants — to see if they have contributed to a rise in chronic illness.
He&#8217;s also halted the CDC’s “<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/19/nx-s1-5302906/cdc-flu-vaccine-campaign-terminated">Wild to Mild</a>” campaign <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/26/rfk-jr-vaccines-informed-consent-cdc-messaging-vaccinations/#:~:text=Health%20and%20Human%20Services%20Secretary,campaign%20promoting%20the%20flu%20vaccine.">promoting</a> the flu vaccine and has indicated that he wants advertisements going forward to promote the idea of “informed consent” in vaccine decision-making, which would include giving people <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/26/rfk-jr-vaccines-informed-consent-cdc-messaging-vaccinations/#:~:text=Health%20and%20Human%20Services%20Secretary,campaign%20promoting%20the%20flu%20vaccine.">information</a> about the adverse events associated with vaccines. 
Additionally, citing conflicts of interest, Kennedy is preparing to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuacohen/2025/03/01/rfk-jr-readies-cdc-for-changes-in-vaccine-policies/">remove</a> several members of the external committee that advises the FDA and CDC on vaccine approvals and other key public health decisions. Recommendations from that committee, known as ACIP, are almost always followed by HHS and could further impact the childhood vaccination schedule. RFK has also <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/adult-non-flu-vaccines/scheduled-meeting-cdc-vaccine-advisers-postponed#:~:text=The%20postponing%20of%20the%20ACIP,committees%20likely%20to%20be%20targeted." target="_blank" rel="noopener">postponed</a> ACIP’s first panel to “accommodate public comment in advance of the meeting.”
Just this past week, it was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/03/10/vaccines-nih-rfk-research-canceled/">announced</a> that the National Institutes of Health will stop spending money to find out why Americans are hesitant to take vaccines. The NIH, which is part of HHS, is terminating or scaling back more than 40 related grants and has said that such spending no longer aligns with NIH priorities.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mahas-latest-wins-on-fluoride-food-and-vaccines?topStoryPosition=undefined" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MAHA’s Latest Wins On Fluoride, Food, And Vaccines</a>

CDC headquarters in Atlanta

White House Withdraws Nominee For CDC Director Hours Before Confirmation Hearing

Health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reportedly studying if there is any link between vaccinations and the rise in autism.
Sources told Reuters that the CDC, which is under the purview of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is planning a large study into vaccines and autism. A CDC study from 2020 found that 1 in 36 children in the United States have been diagnosed with autism.
The Daily Wire reached out to HHS about the report, but has yet to receive a reply.
Over the weekend, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-cdc-plans-study-into-vaccines-autism-sources-say-2025-03-07/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the department will leave &#8220;no stone unturned&#8221; while studying the rise in autism.
“As President Trump said in his Joint Address to Congress, the rate of autism in American children has skyrocketed,&#8221; he said. &#8220;CDC will leave no stone unturned in its mission to figure out what exactly is happening. The American people expect high quality research and transparency and that is what CDC is delivering.&#8221;
National Institutes of Health (NIH) director nominee Dr. Jay Bhattacharya has said he doesn&#8217;t believe there is a link between vaccines and the rise in autism, but would back &#8220;a broad scientific agenda&#8221; looking into the matter.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t generally believe there is a link, based on my reading of the literature. But we do have a sharp rise in autism rates, and I don&#8217;t think any scientist really knows the cause of it,&#8221; Bhattacharya said during a confirmation hearing. &#8220;I would support a broad scientific agenda based on data to get an answer to that.&#8221;
Kennedy is currently tackling a measles outbreak in Texas, where 198 cases have been identified since late January, largely among the Mennonite population. In an op-ed published this month, RFK said the <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/cdc-team-assisting-texas-measles-outbreak-case-total-rises">outbreak</a> must elicit a “<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/robert-f-kennedy-jr-measles-outbreak-call-action-all-us">call to action</a>” for all of us to affirm our commitment to public health.
The secretary said he’s harnessing HHS to support Texas communities and the state&#8217;s health department by making the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine readily available. HHS has sent 2,000 doses of the vaccine to West Texas. Kennedy also said he’s focusing on educating parents on post-infection treatments and nutrition. 
&#8220;What we’re trying to do is really to restore faith in government, and to make sure that we are there to help them with their needs and not particularly to dictate what they ought to be doing,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6369595673112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maha-update-here-are-rfks-latest-moves-on-big-food-and-big-pharma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘MAHA’ Update: Here Are RFK’s Latest Moves On Big Food And Big Pharma</a>

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Visits “The Faulkner Focus”

Kennedy’s CDC To Reportedly Study Potential Link Between Vaccines And Autism

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Vaccines

Canada is a cold place, and to get around my home of Ontario comfortably during the winter I’m lucky to have a top-shelf pair of American premium leather cowboy boots by Durango. They’re perfect, except for the part where they supposedly can increase my risk of cancer.
Yes, because my boots comply with California’s Proposition 65, they came with a Cancer and Reproductive Harm <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-07-23/prop-65-product-warnings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warning label</a> in the event I were to excessively lick or dine upon my footwear. Everything from DVD players to couches now carry these labels if they’re sold in California, in case a consumer were to ingest them instead of watch a movie or take a nap. Considering the earth’s sun is a well-known carcinogen, it’s a wonder California hasn’t legislated some kind of labeling on the menacing gaseous ball elevating the cancer risk of everyone beneath its rays.
Perhaps the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy will take action after he’s done frightening consumers about alcohol. Murthy’s latest <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/alcohol-cancer/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advisory report</a> on “the causal link between alcohol consumption and increased risk for at least seven different types of cancer” <a href="https://www.today.com/health/diet-fitness/alcohol-cancer-risk-rcna186367" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has America spooked</a>. We experienced the same tactics in Canada.
The political collapse of Prime Minster Justin Trudeau in Canada temporarily killed a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tasker-canada-alcohol-problem-health-warning-labels-1.6850180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a> that would have had Canada <a href="https://www.medcentral.com/biz-policy/should-alcohol-labels-have-a-cancer-warning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">follow Ireland</a> in slapping cancer warnings on all alcoholic beverages. It’s part of a movement within the public health establishment via the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol">World Health Organization</a>, to shift world governments away from the message of “drink responsibly” and toward “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tasker-canada-alcohol-problem-health-warning-labels-1.6850180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no amount is safe</a>”.
Consumers should know the risks associated with alcohol consumption, but what exactly are those risks?
First, Dr. Murthy’s report is what’s known as an observational study, which means conclusions are drawn without experiments featuring variables and controls. These reports study large pre-existing data sets and can show correlation, not causation, of illness associated with certain products like alcohol. It is literally not possible for observational studies to demonstrate cause and effect.
Second, the data sets informing the research are biased toward <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24825591/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">respondents underreporting</a> their level of drinking. It is to be expected then that the data for moderate drinkers is systematically enmeshed with that of heavy drinkers who underestimate their weekly intake.
The result is that moderate drinking ends up looking more risky than it might otherwise be on a chart illustrating a correlation between alcohol consumption and certain cancers.
The Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) <a href="https://www.ccsa.ca/canadas-guidance-alcohol-and-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led</a> the charge for warning labels in Canada, and their own findings illustrated the same kind of disproportionate response being mimicked by Dr. Murthy in the US. The CCSA’s report argued that a male who consumes 2 drinks per day may increase their <a href="https://financialpost.com/opinion/david-clement-happy-festivus-earful-for-you" target="_blank" rel="noopener">absolute</a> colorectal cancer risk by 0.0028 percent. If you add the increased risk for all cancers measured by the CCSA (liver, colorectal, esophagus, larynx, and oral/pharynx) related to alcohol consumption, the total absolute increase in cancer risk for a male drinking 2 drinks per day is 0.0099, or 9.9 one-hundredths of a percent.
These are not the kind of numbers you’d take seriously if they were on the warning label, and it’s not especially helpful to slap tobacco-style cancer warnings on products that are exponentially less harmful. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lung-cancer/risk-factors/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/risk_factors.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC</a> estimates that smoking increases cancer risk by 15-30 times when compared to non-smokers.
Smoking comes with an increased cancer risk that is more than 1,000%. Two alcoholic drinks per day, however, is only an increase of 0.0099% in risk. These things are not the same.
A <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2839311">2016 paper</a> from Harvard Kennedy School laid out the best case against an overzealous warning label regime like California’s Prop 65 and the movement to associate alcohol with the hazards of cigarettes. Harvard said of Prop 65 that it “fails miserably at distinguishing between large and small risks; that is to say between wolves and puppies.” The cancer warning label movement “cries wolf” over statistically insignificant risks and deters consumers from taking labels seriously when a genuinely dangerous product comes to market in the future.
It is not good for consumers when warning labels are a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAnAmerican/comments/lvkiys/proposition_65_should_i_worry/">punchline</a>, but that’s precisely what happens when cancer warnings are on cigarettes and <a href="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GettyImages-171179611.jpg">Starbucks self-serve</a> sugar stations.
The connection between heavy drinking and certain cancers of the mouth and throat is generally accepted by researchers, including the most recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) about the health impacts of alcohol. NASEM <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/28582/review-of-evidence-on-alcohol-and-health">showed the same</a> uptick in the risk for breast cancer with moderate drinking but did not replicate a connection between moderate drinking and the rest of the other afflictions.
Any consumer should scratch their head when the Surgeon General’s alcohol warning is that “evidence shows that this risk may start to increase around one or fewer drinks per day.”
May start? Fewer than one drink per day? This barely clever wording means Dr. Murthy cannot demonstrate total sobriety as having a 0.0 correlation with developing cancer.
This strategic uncertainty should tell you something about the claims being made by Vivek Murthy and public health authorities in places like Canada. The conclusions don’t make that much sense. For example, Dr. Joseph Sparano, deputy director of the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, <a href="https://www.today.com/health/diet-fitness/alcohol-cancer-risk-rcna186367">told NBC’s Today</a> “Drinking may explain some of the increased cancer risk we are seeing in young people – Cancers in people under the age of 50 have been increasing at a rate of 1-2% per year over the last 15 years.”
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But nothing is said about the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/claraludmir/2023/06/27/why-genz-is-drinking-less-and-what-this-means-for-the-alcohol-industry/">years</a> of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220920-why-gen-zers-are-growing-up-sober-curious">coverage</a> on reliable trendlines <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/509690/young-adults-drinking-less-prior-decades.aspx">showing</a> adults under 35 drink less frequently and in lower quantities than any prior generation. Older cohorts are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/30/health/seniors-alcohol-consumption.html">driving</a> the majority of alcohol consumption, and recent Center for Disease Control <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db374.htm">data</a> shows us that 5.1% of American adults are heavy drinkers, meaning a man who consumes more than 14 drinks per week and a woman who has more than seven. That slim cohort represents 75% of the cancer cases related to alcohol consumption.
If public health authorities are going to increase their focus on alcohol, it should be on heavy drinkers and tested messages of moderation and responsible drinking. 
Comparing the risks of moderate drinking to smoking is statistically false and misleading for consumers. The U.S. Surgeon General’s words carry incredible weight throughout the world, and like with California’s overzealous risk labeling system, Murthy risks squandering even more public trust in a public health advisory that can’t prove its own claims.
* * *
David Clement is the North American Affairs Director for the Consumer Choice Center. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/ClementLiberty">@ClementLiberty</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Close up of young Asian woman walking through supermarket aisle and choosing a bottle of red wine from the shelf in a supermarket

Why Cancer Warnings On Alcohol Dilute The Meaning Of Risk

Alcohol

California

Canada

Cancer

Surgeon General

Tobacco

Vivek Murthy

President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> announced late this week that he has tapped former Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) to be the next Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
&#8220;In addition to being a Medical Doctor for 40 years, and an Army Veteran, Dave has been a respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues, and served on the Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, working for Accountability on HHS and CDC Policy and Budgeting,&#8221; Trump said.
&#8220;Dave also served in a leading role in Government Oversight and Reform Committee Hearings, addressing issues within HHS and CDC,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;Dave has successfully worked with the CDC to enact a ban on patents for human embryos.&#8221;
The president-elect said that it was important for Americans to regain their trust in federal health agencies after years of &#8220;censorship, data manipulation, and misinformation.&#8221;
He said that Weldon will prioritize &#8220;Transparency, Competence, and High Standards&#8221; as the director of the CDC.
He said that the CDC in his administration will &#8220;play a big role in helping to ensure Americans have the tools and resources they need to understand the underlying causes of disease, and the solutions to cure these diseases.&#8221;
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE</a>
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump&#8217;s pick to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services, praised the selection in a statement posted to X.
&#8220;Congratulations Dr. Dave Weldon on your nomination as Director of CDC,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Dr. Weldon is a 40-year medical doctor, Congressman, and Army veteran.&#8221;
&#8220;Dave&#8217;s leadership at CDC will bring the truth and transparency needed to restore the public&#8217;s confidence in this institution,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Welcome aboard.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Congratulations Dr. Dave Weldon on your nomination as Director of CDC. Dr. Weldon is a 40-year medical doctor, Congressman, and Army veteran. Dave&#8217;s leadership at CDC will bring the truth and transparency needed to restore the public&#8217;s confidence in this institution. Welcome… <a href="https://t.co/hu8bHdSqKa">pic.twitter.com/hu8bHdSqKa</a>
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1860373104515526975?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2024</a></blockquote>

US-CLONING-WELDON

Trump Names Former Florida Congressman CDC Director

Florida

Vice President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris&#8217;</a> presidential campaign is mandating the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19-vaccine">COVID-19 vaccine</a> for those interested in working for her.
On the official presidential <a href="https://kamalaharris.com/work-with-us/">website</a> for Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, under the option “work for us,” is a list of job opportunities with the campaign.
The individual <a href="https://jobs.lever.co/BFP/a3db8c48-0d22-4863-8ee1-b43b8d0d1a95">jobs</a> pages contain a list of responsibilities and qualifications and underneath those is a paragraph about being vaccinated.
“Harris for President requires all employees to be ‘up to date’ on COVID-19 vaccination status as prescribed by the CDC as a condition of employment, unless otherwise prohibited by applicable law,” the statement read.
“If you seek a reasonable accommodation in relation to the campaign&#8217;s COVID-19 policy, you should speak to the HR Department prior to reporting to an office location,” the statement added.
A message on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html">website</a> reads, “CDC recommends the 2023–2024 updated COVID-19 vaccines—Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax—to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A vote for Kamala Harris = a vote for endless vaccine mandates. Guys come on, don’t do this. <a href="https://t.co/P36uxxJLtR">https://t.co/P36uxxJLtR</a> <a href="https://t.co/g06kLPVl84">pic.twitter.com/g06kLPVl84</a>
— Kristen Mag (@kristenmag) <a href="https://twitter.com/kristenmag/status/1824308411997327434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
As the campaign stated, “up to date” per the CDC means, “People aged 5 – 64 years. You are up to date when you get 1 age-appropriate updated COVID-19 vaccine.”
And for people aged 65 years and older, it said, “You are up to date when you have received 2 updated 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine doses.”
The Daily Wire has reached out to the Harris campaign for information about its vaccine mandate.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1723831707612000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0pyrv88A5nsmWM2F2Wr9As">Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.</a>
In February, the largest global study to date looked at medical issues among nearly 100 million people who received the COVID vaccine and found a higher-than-expected increase in neurological- and heart-related problems following the shot, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/largest-covid-vax-study-to-date-finds-higher-than-expected-increase-in-heart-and-brain-issues-following-jab">reported</a>.
As the Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/legacy-media-acknowledges-possible-injury-from-covid-vaccine">previously reported</a>, there have been nearly 13,000 claims filed with the vaccine compensation program alleging harm caused by the pandemic response, with more than 10,000 of those claims citing the vaccine as causing injury or death.
In May 2023, the Biden-Harris administration announced an end to the “COVID-19 vaccine requirements for Federal employees, Federal contractors, and international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11, the same day that the COVID-19 public health emergency ends…” a White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/01/the-biden-administration-will-end-covid-19-vaccination-requirements-for-federal-employees-contractors-international-travelers-head-start-educators-and-cms-certified-facilities/">press release</a> read.
Zach Jewell contributed to this piece.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/legacy-media-acknowledges-possible-injury-from-covid-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Legacy Media Acknowledges Possible Injury From COVID Vaccine</a>

Kamala Harris And Tim Walz Campaign In Michigan

Harris Campaign Mandating COVID Vaccine To Work For Her

COVID-19

Elections

Kamala Harris

News

Tim Walz

vaccine

Former President Donald Trump&#8217;s CDC Director warned during an interview over the weekend that he is becoming increasingly concerned about a deadly bird flu pandemic erupting that will likely have a high mortality rate.
Dr. Robert Redfield said during an interview with NewsNation that he believes it&#8217;s a matter of &#8220;when&#8221; and not &#8220;if&#8221; there will be a bird flu pandemic in humans.
&#8220;Unfortunately, bird flu, when it does enter humans, has a significant mortality, probably somewhere between 25%-50% mortality,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So it&#8217;s going to be quite complicated. Since 2019, we&#8217;ve had a progressive increase in bird flu in chickens and ducks and turkeys in our country. And since then, you&#8217;ve seen it now go into a number of mammals. It&#8217;s now in 27 mammals in the United States.&#8221;
Addressing why it&#8217;s important to note the the disease is spreading to other mammals, he said: &#8220;We know exactly what has to happen for bird flu to be infectious for humans and go human-to-human. Scientists in 2012 actually did experiments in the lab using gain of function research, which I&#8217;m not in favor of, but the scientists did it. And they figured the five amino acids that have to change in the key receptor in order for bird flu, to gain a propensity to bind to the human receptor, and then be able to go human-to-human, something that obviously happened with COVID, where COVID, obviously, learned how to use the H2 receptor in humans and of course, became a very infectious virus.&#8221;
He said that bird flu will be transmitted from person to person &#8220;through aerosols and droplets&#8221;. He said that he is worried that a pandemic will happen because the virus will become contagious because of lab experiments.
&#8220;Normally, the five amino acid changes is a huge, huge species barrier,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So who knows how long that will take but as it goes into more and more different mammals, it&#8217;s changing, its use of receptors, it&#8217;s changing, it&#8217;s learning to how to use different receptors for dolphins and seals. And it&#8217;s learning how to use receptors in bears and polar bears and foxes and raccoons and cats. So it&#8217;s going through a lot of changes and it&#8217;s, as it picks up some of these new receptors, it can get closer and closer to humans.&#8221;
He said that he was concerned about the virus spreading to cattle because cattle are often in close proximity to pigs and viruses jump easily from pigs to humans.
&#8220;I&#8217;m less concerned, though, that this will happen through spillover and evolution in animals,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m much more concerned that this will happen in the laboratory, through gain of functional research. I can create this virus, literally in weeks to months by using gain of function research. I know exactly what amino acids I have to change because in 2012, against my recommendation, the scientists that did these experiments actually published them. So the recipe for how to make bird flu highly infectious for humans is already out there. All you have to do is look at it.&#8221;
WATCH:
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House Oversight And Reform Committee Holds Hearing On Government’s Preparedness And Response To Coronavirus

Trump’s CDC Director: Gain Of Function Research Will Cause Bird Flu Pandemic With 25-50% Mortality Rate

Pandemic

Robert Redfield

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/drugs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drug</a> overdoses topped records again in 2022, new government data show.
Nearly 108,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2022, according to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db491.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A total of 107,941 people died from drug overdoses that year, about 1,200 more or 1% higher than those who died in 2021.
The number of overdose deaths has been rising for two decades, hitting new records nearly every year.
The overdose death rate for teens and adults younger than 35 decreased slightly, while rates increased for adults age 35 and older.
Men consistently make up the vast majority of overdose deaths by far, about 70% of all deaths. In 2022, the female overdose death rate declined for the first time in five years, but the male rate continued to climb.
American Indian and Alaska Native people continued to have the highest overdose death rate, which spiked 15% in 2022. Black, Hispanic, and Asian people also saw their overdose death rates rise, while rates decreased among white Americans.
Powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl continue to drive the death rate up precipitously.
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Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/portland-sees-biggest-fentanyl-bust-in-sheriffs-office-history">about</a> 50 times more potent than heroin, has been on the rise in the U.S. for years. The deadly synthetic opioid is inexpensive to make, easily transported, and has been increasingly smuggled over the southern border by Mexican cartels.
As little as two milligrams of fentanyl weighing the same as a few grains of salt can cause a fatal overdose, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/portland-sees-biggest-fentanyl-bust-in-sheriffs-office-history">according</a> to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Because it is frequently cut with other drugs, users may often be unaware that they are consuming the powerful substance, which can be deadly even in small doses.
Synthetic opioids caused about 23 deaths for every 100,000 people in 2022, 4% higher than in 2021. Meanwhile, deaths due to natural opioids such as heroin decreased.
Deaths involving cocaine also spiked 12% in 2022. Deaths involving psychostimulants such as methamphetamine also increased 4%.
Overdose death numbers for 2023 have not yet been reported.
The new data also showed that overall life expectancy increased for Americans by more than a year up to 77.5 years.
This is partially due to the COVID death rate declining, but it does not quite make up for the 2.4 years of life expectancy lost since the pandemic. Life expectancy remains lower than it has been in about two decades.
The death rates for infants and children up to 14 jumped between 2021 and 2022 while the death rate for age groups above 14 decreased.
Heart disease remained the leading cause of death, with cancer in second place.
Those conditions cause about two out of very five deaths in the country, although the death rates for both decreased 4% and 3%, respectively, in 2022.

Handcuffs on wrist, drug syringe

Drug Overdose Deaths Smashed Records Again In 2022

Drugs

Fentanyl

Health Care

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U.S.

A global study that looked at medical issues among nearly 100 million people who received the COVID vaccine found a higher-than-expected increase in neurological- and heart-related problems following the shot. 
The Global Vaccine Data Network’s (GVDN) COVID Vaccine Safety study, which was the largest safety research conducted on COVID vaccines to date, found a higher risk of myocarditis than was expected from mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-19/largest-covid-vaccine-study-yet-finds-links-to-health-conditions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The study also found an increased risk of a type of blood clot in the brain in people who received viral-vector vaccines, such as the one developed by the University of Oxford and produced by AstraZeneca. 
“The size of the population in this study increased the possibility of identifying rare potential vaccine safety signals,” said Kristýna Faksová, the lead author of the study who works for the Department of Epidemiology Research at Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/02/20/us-news/covid-vaccines-linked-to-slight-increases-in-heart-brain-blood-disorders/">according</a> to The New York Post. &#8220;Single sites or regions are unlikely to have a large enough population to detect very rare signals.&#8221;
GVDN is a New Zealand-based group that <a href="https://www.globalvaccinedatanetwork.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">describes</a> itself as “a multinational, investigator-led research network with primary interests in the area of vaccine safety and effectiveness.” Researchers with GVDN looked at 13 medical conditions that they considered “adverse events of special interest” in 99 million vaccinated people throughout eight different countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, New Zealand, and Scotland. The study’s most consistent finding was inflammation of the heart muscle, also known as myocarditis, after each of the first three doses of mRNA vaccines, Bloomberg reported. 
Researchers also <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4477406-largest-multi-country-covid-study-links-vaccines-to-potential-adverse-effects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> a “significant increase” increase in Guillain-Barre syndrome within the first 42 days of an initial AstraZeneca vaccine. Guillain-Barre syndrome is an autoimmune disorder where an immune system attacks its body’s nerves, according to the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/guillain-barre-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20362793" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayo Clinic</a>. 
“In its most severe form Guillain-Barre syndrome is a medical emergency,” the Mayo Clinic says. “Most people with the condition must be hospitalized to receive treatment.” 
The study then identified possible safety signals for spinal cord inflammation following viral-vector vaccine injections. Potential safety signals were also identified in the study for inflammation and swelling in the brain and spinal cord after both viral-vector and mRNA vaccines. 
Jacob Glanville, the CEO of biotech company Centivaix, responded to the study’s findings, telling <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/health/largest-ever-covid-vaccine-study-links-shot-small-increase-heart-brain-conditions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a> that while the vaccines have potential adverse effects, getting immunized against COVID is still the “safer choice.” 
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&#8220;This study is confirming in a much larger cohort what has been previously identified in the original studies during the pandemic — myocarditis and pericarditis as a rare side effect of mRNA vaccines and clots as a rare side effect of the viral vectored vaccines,&#8221; said Glanville, who was not involved in the study.
“The odds of all of these adverse events is still much, much higher when infected with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), so getting vaccinated is still by far the safer choice,” Glanville added.
The GVDN study was published in the medical journal “Vaccine” last week. Nearly 14 billion doses of COVID vaccines have been administered globally since they were first rolled out in December 2020.
The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to tout COVID vaccines as “safe and effective.” The WHO <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines/advice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> that “In 2021 alone, COVID-19 vaccines saved an estimated 14.4 million lives worldwide,” and the CDC <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/safety-of-vaccines.html#:~:text=Everyone%206%20months%20and%20older,vaccines%20are%20safe%20and%20effective." target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommends</a> that everyone six months and older receive the vaccine. 
GVDN’s Global COVID Vaccine Safety Project is part of a larger initiative that is supported by the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services, and several of the study’s authors receive financial support from federal government agencies, including the CDC, the New Zealand Ministry of Health, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4477406-largest-multi-country-covid-study-links-vaccines-to-potential-adverse-effects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
The outlet added that some of the study’s authors also reported having previously been paid by pharmaceutical companies Gilead Sciences Inc., AbbVie Inc., Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline.

COVID Vaccine

Largest COVID Vax Study To Date Finds Higher-Than-Expected Increase In Heart And Brain Issues Following Jab

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COVID-19 Vaccine

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The U.S. death rate for babies rose 3% last year, the first jump in two decades.
In 2022, there were 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, according to provisional data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That&#8217;s 3% higher than the 5.44 infant deaths per 1,000 live births the country saw in 2021.
Last year marks the first time the infant mortality rate has jumped since 2002, when the death rate rose to 7 deaths per 1,000 live births, up from 6.8 deaths in 2001.
Some groups of infants saw significant death rate increases, including baby boys, white infants, Native American infants, and premature babies born at 37 weeks or earlier. Native American mothers saw their infant mortality rate <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/infant-mortality-rate-increases-3-2022-rising-1st/story?id=104505952" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rise</a> from 7.46 infant deaths per 1,000 to 9.06 deaths in 2022. White mothers saw the death rate rise from 4.36 per 1,000 to 9.06 deaths.
Maternal complications and bacterial sepsis, two of the leading causes of infant deaths, also increased last year.
Dr. Eric Eichenwald, a Philadelphia-based neonatologist, called the new data “disturbing.”
An increase in RSV and flu infections last fall among babies that led to emergency room visits across the country “could potentially account for some of it,” Eichenwald <a href="https://apnews.com/article/infant-deaths-us-cdc-mortality-c808796da0415b6ecc0629938421e1b5#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Associated Press. However, he said experts can only speculate so far about why the death rate for babies suddenly increased after years of declining.
The infant mortality rate, which measures how many babies die before they reach their first birthday, has otherwise been declining in recent years. The neonatal mortality rate, which measures how many infants die less than 28 days after birth, also rose 3% last year. The neonatal mortality rate jumped to 3.58 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022, up from 3.49 deaths in 2021.
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The postneonatal mortality rate, which looks at infant deaths between 28 days old and one year old, jumped even higher, 4% up to 2.02 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 1.95 deaths  in 2021.
Overall, more than 20,500 babies died in the U.S. last year. That&#8217;s more than 610 infant deaths than during the previous year.
Georgia, Iowa, Missouri and Texas saw significant increases in their infant mortality rates last year. Only one state, Nevada, saw a decrease. Georgia saw 116 more infant deaths last year than in 2021. Texas had 251 more infant deaths.
“It would appear that some of the states could be having a larger impact on the [national] rate,” said Danielle Ely, the CDC report’s lead author.
Meanwhile, the overall death rate in the U.S. fell 5% last year. The falling death rate has been mostly attributed to the country recovering from the pandemic.
Maternal deaths also fell last year across the nation.

GERMANY-BRITAIN-WWII-BOMB

Death Rate For Babies In America Rose For First Time In 20 Years

babies

Death

Medical

A new study shows a significant amount of overlap between government and pharmaceutical jobs, leaving the government “vulnerable” to industry bias. 
The study, published in Health Affairs, <a href="https://healthpolicy.usc.edu/article/study-of-revolving-door-in-washington-shows-one-third-of-hhs-appointees-leave-for-industry-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed that</a> over half of appointees to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services left their government jobs to work in the pharmaceutical industry, which generally pays more. The study was conducted by the University of Southern California Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics and Harvard University.
&#8220;Although there are understandable reasons for people to move between the public and private sectors, the study notes that such a revolving door could make government agencies more vulnerable to pro-industry bias,&#8221; the USC Schaeffer Center <a href="https://healthpolicy.usc.edu/article/study-of-revolving-door-in-washington-shows-one-third-of-hhs-appointees-leave-for-industry-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> of the project.
Overall, the study found that nearly a third of those appointed to the Department of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health-and-human-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Health and Human Services</a> went straight from government work into pharmaceutical industry work. The authors, Genevieve Kanter of USC and Daniel Carpenter of Harvard, evaluated 766 HHS appointees.
“Of people appointed to the Department of Health and Human Services between 2004 and 2020, 15 percent had been employed in private industry immediately before their appointment. At the end of their tenure, 32 percent exited to industry,” an abstract of the study <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00418" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a>. 
They found no significant difference between party appointees leaving from government into the the pharmaceutical industry. 
The revolving doors can lead to conflict because of the key roll that federal agencies play in approving new drugs and treatments. 
&#8220;Laws passed by Congress get a lot of attention, but a lot of the real action actually happens at the regulatory level,&#8221; Kanter said. &#8220;Regulatory agencies can decide the fortunes of many companies.&#8221;
Kanter added that current law likely did not complete shield the government from bias, with only limited measures in place to prevent overlap. 
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&#8220;They do not broadly cover a lot of lobbying related to agency decision making – like regulations and drug authorizations – so they don’t necessarily deter that behavior,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The direction one might go is to expand the cooling off laws. But that’s a blunt instrument for a lot of subtle things that might be going on in terms of the effects of the revolving door.&#8221;
“What I am really concerned about is whether the personnel flow might lead to biases in government decision making,” she added.

Center For Disease Control Director Tom Frieden Addresses The Media On Ebola Case In U.S.

Government ‘Vulnerable’ To Pharma Industry Bias Due To Revolving Employment Door: Study

Big Pharma

Health and Human Services

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website appeared to have quietly “concluded” collecting COVID-19 vaccine adverse events on the federal agency’s V-safe website earlier this summer.
“Thank you for your participation. Data collection for COVID-19 vaccines concluded on June 30, 2023,” the V-safe <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230821200440/https:/vsafe.cdc.gov/covid/en/">website</a> reads.
Instead of displaying data collected from the mRNA vaccine, the CDC website redirects users to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) website for adverse event reporting, while health authorities <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety/monitoring/vsd/index.html">reportedly</a> continue to monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.
Dr. David Gortler, a Brownstone Institute Fellow who formerly served as a senior official and advisor for the FDA, first <a href="https://brownstone.org/articles/cdc-refusing-new-covid-vaccine-adverse-event-reports/">reported</a> the change in the CDC’s website, questioning why the federal agency removed the data, asking, “Does this mean that the CDC believes that the mRNA Covid-19 injections are so safe, there is no need to monitor adverse event reports any longer?” 
The CDC, however, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety/monitoring/v-safe/index.html#:~:text=V%2Dsafe%20users%20or%20others,Event%20Reporting%20System%20(VAERS).">reportedly</a> is developing a new version of the v-safe system, “which will allow users to share their post-vaccination experiences with new vaccines.”
Since mRNA injections hit the market in 2021, Gortler cited the FDA’s VAERS database that presents the vaccines as “primary suspect” of more than 1.5 million adverse event reports, including heart attacks and cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in the U.S. Gortler also cited an FDA-funded study out of Harvard that states VAERS reports represent less than 1 percent of vaccine adverse events that actually occur.
Before the CDC removed the database, Gortler shared an image from the V-safe Covid Vaccine Adverse Health Impacts dashboard that stated over 6.4 million individuals were impacted out of 10.1 million users, including roughly 2 million who were “unable to conduct normal activities of daily living or needing medical care,” Gortler wrote.
The Brownstone report comes amid rumors that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) managers were recently instructed that pandemic-era restrictions, including mask-wearing for travelers and COVID-19 lockdowns, would return to the U.S. before 2024. But officials reportedly <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-covid-lockdown-masks-tsa-445214096334">told</a> The Associated Press such reports were “utterly false” and that they never received such information.
Still, President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-to-request-more-funding-for-new-covid-vaccine-recommended-that-everybody-get-it">said</a> last week that he plans to ask Congress for additional funding for developing a new COVID-19 vaccine.
“I signed off this morning on a proposal we have to present to the Congress a request for additional funding for a new vaccine that is necessary, that works,” Biden, according to the Associated Press, adding, “It will likely be recommended that everybody get it no matter whether they’ve gotten it before or not.”
Pfizer and Moderna are working on new vaccines to fight the latest variant — descended from omicron — as some scientists warn of rising COVID cases nationwide. At the end of July, COVID hospitalizations were just over 9,000, but that’s only a fraction of the admissions seen during the height of COVID and later surges of the delta and omicron variants, the AP reported. In January 2022, during a surge from Omicron, an estimated 150,000 people were in the hospital from the virus.
The slight rise in COVID cases has caused some businesses and universities to reinstate mask mandates. Morris Brown College in Atlanta is bringing back a mask mandate despite having zero reported cases of COVID on campus.
Lionsgate Films in California also temporarily reinstated mask mandates for some of its Santa Monica offices. The studio said it would have a “building entry policy” that requires employees “to perform a daily self-screening prior to coming to the office each day,” and workers must also notify the company of any “new or worsening symptoms” or if they “traveled internationally in the last 10 days.” Lionsgate has since lifted the mandate, saying it had contained the COVID spread.
This article has been updated for more context and clarity on the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine data collection methods.    
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.

CDC Concludes COVID Vaccine Data Collection, Redirects Adverse Event Reports While Developing New System: Report

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