00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So last November, while you were under consideration to become
00:06Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mr. Kennedy, you said, quote, if vaccines are
00:12working for somebody, I'm not going to take them away. No exceptions, no ifs, ands, or buts.
00:19You would not take away vaccines from anyone who wanted them. Then last week, you announced
00:25the COVID-19 vaccine is no longer approved for healthy people under the age of 65. In announcing
00:32the change, you said the vaccine will be available for anyone who wants it. Now, obviously, both things
00:38cannot be true at the same moment. So let's clear this up right now, Secretary Kennedy. Will you tell
00:45America that all adults and all children over six months of age are eligible to get a COVID booster
00:53at their local pharmacy today? Anybody can get the booster. I'm sorry? Anybody can get it.
01:00Anybody. So you're saying that is now the official rule of HHS. Anybody is eligible to get a booster
01:08by just walking into the pharmacy. It's not recommended for healthy people. No, no. If you
01:14don't recommend, then the consequence of that in many states is that you can't walk into a pharmacy
01:21and get one. It means insurance companies don't have to cover the $200 or so cost. As Senator
01:28Dr. Cassidy said, you are effectively denying people vaccines. We're not going to recommend
01:34a product for which there's no clinical data for that indication. Is that what I should be doing?
01:40What you should be doing is honoring your promise that you made when you were looking to get confirmed
01:45in this job. You're going like this. And that is you promised that you would not take away vaccines
01:53from anyone who wanted them. You just changed the classification of the COVID vaccine. I'm not taking
01:59them away from people, Senator. It takes it away if you can't get it from your pharmacist. Well,
02:05most Americans are going to be able to get it from their pharmacy for free. Most Americans will be
02:11able to get it from their pharmacy for free. No, the question is, everyone who wants it,
02:15that was your promise. I know I didn't. I never promised that I was going to recommend products
02:21with which there is no indication. When you said- And I know you've taken $855,000 from pharmaceutical
02:28companies, Senator. Did you hold up a big sign saying that you were lying
02:33when you said that? Because you are the one who said you would not take them away.
02:39Now, Senator- I'm not taking them away from anybody. You want me to indicate a product for
02:45which there is no clinical data? Is that what you want? Secretary Kennedy, you said you wouldn't,
02:52and now you did. I'm not taking them away. Everybody can get access to them. No,
02:57they can't walk into a pharmacy the way they could last month and get access. It depends on the state.
03:04It depends on the states. But they can still get it. Everybody can get it.
03:09A month ago, it did not get it. Everybody can get it, Senator. So look, let's move on.
03:14You clearly are taking away vaccines. I've seen the list for what's coming up next, and that is
03:20the agenda for the next CDC vaccine panel. And first up is ratifying your COVID actions. Second
03:30is hepatitis B is on the agenda. So should Americans expect you to take away hepatitis vaccine
03:37access as well, even though you promise not to? As I said, I'm not taking vaccines away from anybody.
03:44Okay, same answer, right? You're just going to deny that when people can't get access,
03:50that you're not taking it away. Then let me ask you, is that the same game you're going to play
03:55with me? So you want me to recommend every product in the world without any clinical trial data?
04:03I want you to follow through on your promises. Yeah, my promise was to give-
04:07A month ago, we could get COVID vaccines by just walking through a pharmacy.
04:11You can still get COVID vaccines, Senator. You are taking that away.
04:14No, you can still get the COVID vaccines, and Medicare will still pay for them,
04:20and Medicaid will still pay for them. Could you tell the head of the CDC that if
04:24she refused to sign off on your changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, that she had to resign?
04:30No, I told her that she had to resign because I asked her, are you a trustworthy person? And she said,
04:37no. So, if you had an employee who told you they weren't trustworthy, would you ask them to resign,
04:46Senator? So, I'm sorry, but this is not what she has said publicly. She has said-
04:52Well, I'm not surprised about that.
04:55So you're saying she's lying? Yes.
04:58Every conversation I had with her, there were witnesses- And let me get this straight,
05:01this is the same person that less than a month earlier, you stood next to her and described her
05:08as unimpeachable, and you had full confidence in her, and that you had full confidence in her
05:16scientific credentials. And in a month, she became a liar?
05:20Yeah, you should ask her what changed. And by the way, a month ago, you were voting against her,
05:25because you thought she was either incompetent, ineligible, or unsuited to the task.
05:33I went against her because I was afraid she was going to bend the knee to you and Donald Trump,
05:37and it looks like she didn't bend the knee, so you fired her. Look, you're putting America's
05:44babies' health at risk, America's seniors' health at risk, all Americans' health at risk,
05:49and you should resign. Senator Sanders.
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