Following is the transcript of yesterday’s exchange between Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, regarding the availability of Covid 19 boosters:
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN: Let’s clear this up right now, Secretary Kennedy. Will you tell America that all adults and all children over 6 months of age are eligible to get a COVID booster at their local pharmacy today?
HHS SECRETARY KENNEDY: Anybody can get the booster.
WARREN: So you’re saying that is now the official rule of HHS-anybody is eligible to get a booster by just walking into the pharmacy?
KENNEDY: It’s not recommended for healthy people.
WARREN: No, no. If you don’t recommend, then the consequence of that in many states is that you can’t walk into a pharmacy and get one. It means insurance companies don’t have to cover the $200 or so cost. As Senator Dr. Cassidy said, you are effectively denying people vaccines.
KENNEDY: We’re not going to recommend a product for which there’s no clinical data for that indication. Is that what I should be doing?
WARREN: What you should be doing is honoring your promise that you made when you were looking to get confirmed in this job-that you would not take away vaccines from anyone who wanted them. You just changed the classification of the COVID vaccine.
KENNEDY: I’m not taking them away from people, Senator.
WARREN: It takes it away if you can’t get it from your pharmacy.
KENNEDY: Well, most Americans are going to be able to get it from their pharmacy for free.
WARREN: The question is everyone who wants it. That was your promise.
KENNEDY: I never promised that I was going to recommend products for which there is no indication. And I know you’ve taken $855,000 from pharmaceutical companies, Senator.
WARREN: Did you hold up a big sign saying that you were lying when you said that? Because you are the one who said you would not take them away.
KENNEDY: I’m not taking them away. Everybody can get access to them.
WARREN: No, they can’t walk into a pharmacy the way they could last month.
KENNEDY: It depends on the states. But everybody can still get it.
WARREN: Let’s move on. You clearly are taking away vaccines. I’ve seen the list for what’s coming up next, and that is the agenda for the next CDC vaccine panel. First up is ratifying your COVID actions. Second, hepatitis B is on the agenda. So should Americans expect you to take away hepatitis vaccine access as well, even though you promised not to?
KENNEDY: As I said, I’m not taking vaccines away from anybody.
WARREN: Same answer, right? You’re just going to deny that when people can’t get access, you’re not taking it away.
KENNEDY: So you want me to recommend every product in the world without any clinical trial data? My promise was-
WARREN: Just a month ago we could get COVID vaccines by walking in. You’re taking that away.
KENNEDY: No, you can still get COVID vaccines. Medicare will still pay for them, and Medicaid will help.
WARREN: Did you tell the head of the CDC that if she refused to sign off on your changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, she had to resign?
KENNEDY: No. I told her she had to resign because I asked her, “Are you a trustworthy person?” and she said no. So if you had an employee who told you they weren’t trustworthy, would you ask them to resign, Senator?
WARREN: This is not what she has said publicly. She has said otherwise.
KENNEDY: So you’re saying she’s lying? Yes. Every conversation I had with her-
WARREN: Let me get this straight. This is the same person that less than a month earlier you stood next to and described as unimpeachable, said you had full confidence in her and in her scientific credentials. And in a month she became a liar?
KENNEDY: Yeah, you should ask her what changed. And by the way, a month ago you were voting against her.
WARREN: Because I was afraid she was going to bend the knee to you and Donald Trump-and it looks like she didn’t bend the knee, so you fired her. Look, you’re putting America’s babies’ health at risk, America’s seniors’ health at risk, all Americans’ health at risk-and you should resign.
That, to me, ranks about 9 to 9.5 on the contentiousness scale (I reserve 10 for physical confrontations and gunplay).
Who do you think got/gave the better of it? Your call.
