Something you probably won't see from the MSM
"I’m a Republican former congressman and doctor. The new HHS placebo-controlled trial mandate is dangerous.
Don’t let ideology jeopardize vaccine progress
By Larry BucshonMay 22, 2025
Bucshon, a cardiothoracic surgeon, served as the U.S. representative for Indiana’s 8th Congressional District from 2011 to 2025.
As a cardiothoracic surgeon and former member of Congress, I’ve spent decades working to protect people’s health — first in the operating room, later in Washington. I’ve sat with worried parents. I’ve cared for patients at their most vulnerable. And I’ve always believed that public health decisions, especially those made by government, must be grounded in science, shaped by ethics, and made with the public’s trust in mind.
That’s why I’m deeply concerned about a new policy announced by the Department of Health and Human Services. It mandates placebo-controlled trials for all new vaccines — even when proven vaccines for the same disease already exist. That’s a sharp and dangerous break from decades of precedent.
On its face, more testing might seem like a step toward greater safety. But this change doesn’t make vaccines safer or science stronger. Instead, it forces researchers to unethically withhold proven protection from some patients, all under the guise of “scientific rigor.” And that’s where it becomes a problem.
In medicine, if we already have a treatment that works, we don’t ignore it; we use it as the benchmark. That’s how we evaluate new cancer drugs, heart medications, and therapies for nearly every other condition. Vaccines are no different. We build on what works. We don’t pretend it doesn’t exist.
Picture enrolling your child in a clinical trial for a next-generation RSV vaccine. You assume it will be tested against the vaccine already available. But under this policy, your child might receive an inert injection instead — offering no protection at all — not because no vaccine exists, but because federal policy requires scientists to ignore it.
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Just as worrying is the message this sends. By implying that previous vaccine trials were insufficient, the policy fuels public skepticism at a time when trust is already fragile. The truth is, vaccines are among the most closely monitored medical products in the world, including in the U.S. — and they continue to be even after approval."
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The new HHS policy doesn’t make patients safer. It doesn’t improve science. And it doesn’t reflect the values I carried with me in the hospital or in Congress.
We can do better. And we should. Lives depend on it.
Larry Bucshon, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon, served as the U.S. representative for Indiana’s 8th Congressional District from 2011 to 2025.
https://www.statnews.com/2025/05/22/vaccines-placebo-controlled-trials-hhs-clinical-research-ethics/