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Tag: senator

  • Republican Senator Express ‘Concern’ Over Potential Change

    Republican Senator Express ‘Concern’ Over Potential Change

    Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana expressed his “concern” for the potential change to the hepatitis B vaccine schedule for infants in the United States.

    The lawmaker’s concern comes as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s panel of federal vaccine advisers will come together to talk about and potentially vote on a change to the vaccine schedule when they meet for the next time on Dec. 4.

    Bill Cassidy on Hepatitis B Vaccine Schedule

    Cassidy said that his skepticism of the change is because the hepatitis B vaccine and its ingredients, which include aluminum, have been “shown to be safe.” He argued that this is a policy made by people who do not understand the epidemiology of hepatitis B or who have become comfortable with long-term success with the current recommendation.

    A Federal Register notice showed that the agenda for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will include talks on “vaccine safety, the childhood and adolescent immunization schedule, and hepatitis B vaccines, according to The Hill.

    The idea of removing aluminum, or even issuing a warning about its use, would significantly affect some of the most important childhood shots across the United States. These include those for DTaP, hepatitis A and B, HPV, pneumococcal, and meningitis.

    Other than hepatitis B, it is not yet clear what other possible changes the panel could talk about in the upcoming meeting. However, United States President Donald Trump’s administration has long been advocating for breaking up the combined measles-mumps-rubella shot that is given to children and turning it into three shots.

    The Benefits of Current Recommendations

    Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said that, as a doctor, he has seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. He added that he wants to make America healthy, and argued that this does not start by stopping recommendations that have made people “substantially healthier,” CBS News reported.

    The Republican senator, who is a physician whose medical practice focused on hepatitis B, noted that the recommended vaccine, which is given at birth, has decreased the incidence of chronic hepatitis B by 20,000 people over the last two decades.

    Data showed that since the recommendation that infants receive their first hepatitis B vaccine dose within 24 hours after being born, which was implemented in 1991, it has given various benefits. These include the prevention of more than 500,000 childhood infections and the reduction of infant hepatitis B cases by 95 percent, among other things, as per NFID.



    Originally published on parentherald.com

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  • Republican Senator Blames Technical Error For Sudden Freeze on Live TV

    Republican Senator Blames Technical Error For Sudden Freeze on Live TV

    A Republican senator blamed a technical error for his sudden freeze on live TV, which sparked rumors of health issues online.

    In an interview with Fox News’ “Kudlow” Tuesday, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy and host Larry Kudlow were discussing President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts when the senator stopped mid-sentence and just stared ahead without speaking.

    “I’m sure Jesus loves him but everybody else thinks—” Kennedy said before trailing off. The senator then stared slightly off camera smiling. He licked his lips before Fox News cut him off and returned the broadcast to just Ludlow.



    “I guess we had some more technical problems. That was the same mic that we lost with Sen. Rand Paul. Awful sorry to hear that because everybody respects what Sen. John Kennedy has to say,” Ludlow said.

    Kennedy’s freeze immediately sparked rumors online of possible medical issues. Others compared the incident to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s freeze during a news conference with reporters in August 2023.




    “He glitched,” one user wrote. Another quipped, “Bro is trying to be Mitch McConnell.” Some users suggested medical issues like a “mini stroke” or “stroke-like symptoms.”

    Kennedy returned to Fox News the following day, during which he clarified that the abrupt end to his interview had been a result of technical errors, and not health-related issues.


    “I was just yapping away and all of a sudden my ear piece blew up,” Kennedy said, pointing to his right ear. “It sounded like a 747 was taking off. Man, my ears are still ringing. Anyways, I assumed we were up there and I just stopped talking and didn’t start talking until I could hear you.”

    The senator denied any claims that he experienced a medical issue during the broadcast, dismissing rumors of “a brain freeze … or a stroke or caught an STD live on television.”

    Kennedy said in a statement obtained by the Daily Mail that he “heard a loud screeching noise with a lot of static” and that he “stopped talking until the interference cleared up,” thinking they were off the air. The Republican blasted media outlets for covering the incident with suggestions of possible health concerns.

    Originally published on Latin Times



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  • Conservative Radio Host Turns on GOP Senator After RFK Jr Fires Entire Vaccine Panel: ‘Coward’

    Conservative Radio Host Turns on GOP Senator After RFK Jr Fires Entire Vaccine Panel: ‘Coward’

    A conservative radio host and former politician has slammed a Republican Senator for not stopping Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before he dissolved an entire advisory panel of vaccine specialists.

    Radio host and former city council member Erick Erickson took to social media to lambaste Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy after Kennedy “retired” all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) immunization advisory panel on Monday.

    “Senator @BillCassidy could have stopped this, but was a coward,” Erickson said on X (formerly Twitter).



    “Cassidy, as Chairman of the committee that reviewed Kennedy could have single handedly blocked his nomination and chose not to,” he continued, replying to his own post.


    Social media users took to the replies of Erickson’s post to echo his frustrations.

    “Don’t worry Erick, since this is something @BillCassidy assured us would not happen based on a promise he secured from RFK, I am sure he is now going to hold RFK to account (as he promised us he would). Is that not correct, @SenBillCassidy?” said one user.


    “Disease and infection knows no color, gender, socioeconomic class, nothing. I keep saying the decimation of CDC and HHS is the real ticking bomb in this country. Hope these judges or someone can step in before it’s too late,” added another.


    “I feel ya, but don’t let all the other senators off the hook either. They ll knew it was a bad idea,” said a third.


    “@BillCassidy will find karma is not just a bitch but also a butcher. Someday, someone he loves will be struck by something and he will know what he should have done to save that person and everyone else he stamped with the RFK Death Sentence,” wrote a fourth.


    Cassidy also acknowledged Kennedy’s removal of the 17 panel members on Monday.

    “Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion. I’ve just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I’ll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case,” he wrote on X.


    On Monday, RFK Jr. published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal announcing that he would be relieving all 17 of the independent vaccine experts on ACIP of their duties.

    “The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine. It has never recommended against a vaccine—even those later withdrawn for safety reasons,” Kennedy wrote.

    Cassidy, who supported RFK Jr.’s nomination and subsequent confirmation for Health Secretary, has been an outspoken proponent of vaccines, especially in the wake of the recent measles outbreak in Texas.

    “This is a serious measles outbreak in Texas. The measles vaccine has been proven safe & effective since 1963,” he said on X in February.



    Originally published on Latin Times



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  • GOP Senator Ridiculed for Insisting Americans ‘Transitioning From Medicaid’ Will Get Insurance From Employers: ‘Do Employers Know?’

    GOP Senator Ridiculed for Insisting Americans ‘Transitioning From Medicaid’ Will Get Insurance From Employers: ‘Do Employers Know?’

    A Republican Senator is being ridiculed online for stating that the millions of people that will be removed from Medicaid if President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” passes will then transition to employer-provided healthcare.

    Oklahoma Senator James Lankford appeared on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ in conversation with host Rebecca Quick on Thursday, where he discussed the potential impacts of the Trump-back GOP spending bill.

    “People are screaming and saying, ‘It’s kicking people off Medicaid.’ It’s not kicking people off Medicaid. It’s transitioning from Medicaid to employer-provided healthcare. So yes, we’ve got 10 million people that are not gonna be on Medicaid, but they then are gonna be on employer-provided healthcare,” said Lankford.


    Social media users reacted incredulously, mocking Lankford for assuming that millions of people would immediately have access to employer provided healthcare options.

    “Do the employers who don’t provide health insurance know??” said one user.


    “Except when your minimum wage job has no healthcare,” said another.


    “So it’s kicking people off medicaid,” wrote a third.


    “That’s IF the employer provides healthcare that is affordable! These are working poor who live paycheck to paycheck and have little left to afford healthcare!” concurred a fourth.


    Lankford, who is a member of the Finance Committee, met with Trump to discuss the tax and spending bill on Wednesday. He continued to outline what exactly legislators discussed with Trump in the meeting.

    “About a two hour conversation about what’s happening on taxes, what are agreements going to be, what direction we’re going to try and take. It was broad in many areas. The House has already passed their piece, the Senate has got to pass our piece then that’s going to line up with the House and the President has got to sign. It’s very important that we align all three right now, so it was a coordination meeting yesterday quite frankly,” said Lankford.

    Originally published on Latin Times



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