Drugmakers Fall on Report US to Claim Covid Shots Killed Kids
A healthcare worker prepares a dose of the Moderna Inc. Covid-19 vaccine in 2022.
(Bloomberg) — Vaccine makers’ shares fell after a report that Trump health officials plan to link Covid shots to the deaths of around two dozen children in a presentation to advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention next week.
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The Washington Post reported Friday that a group of health officials appear to have used the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, to tie the deaths of 25 children to Covid vaccines. A high-profile advisory committee that Kennedy revamped to include vaccine critics is scheduled to discuss the shots from companies including Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and BioNTech SE at its meeting next week.
Moderna shares dropped as much as 8.7% during trading in New York Friday. Pfizer shares fell as much as 3.6%. BioNTech’s US-traded shares sank as much as 14%.
Covid vaccines have become a political flash point in recent weeks as conflict between Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former CDC director Susan Monarez led to her ouster just weeks into her job. Kennedy has previously claimed that the shots crafted during President Donald Trump’s first administration — largely credited with saving millions of lives during the pandemic — cause deadly complications, despite rigorous studies involving millions of people that found serious side effects are rare.
VAERS collects copious amounts of unfiltered data in an effort to detect early signs of side effects. Reports can be submitted by anyone and no effort is made to verify the details or prevent duplication, a format that scientific researchers said makes it difficult to draw clear conclusions.
“FDA and CDC staff routinely analyze VAERS and other safety monitoring data, and those reviews are being shared publicly through the established ACIP process,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said, referring to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Pfizer could not immediately be reached for comment. BioNTech did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Moderna said the safety of its Covid vaccine, Spikevax, is “rigorously monitored” by the company, the FDA and regulators in more than 90 countries. Safety monitoring systems have not identified any new or undisclosed safety concerns in children or in pregnant women, the company said, adding that research “continues to demonstrate a favorable risk–benefit profile for Spikevax.”