Khaberni - The US Food and Drug Administration stated on Friday that at least 10 children may have died "due to" COVID-19 vaccines.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the Food and Drug Administration, has not yet responded to Reuters' request for comment on the report outside business hours.
This comes at a time when Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. drastically changed the government's policy on COVID-19 vaccines, limiting them to individuals who are 65 years of age or older, along with people who have chronic diseases.
Kennedy has been known for a long time as an opponent of vaccines before he took the position of Health Secretary under President Donald Trump. He also links vaccines to autism and seeks to reshape vaccination policies in the country.
During Trump's first term when the pandemic spread and under his successor Joe Biden, US health officials strongly recommended vaccines as lifesaving.
According to The New York Times, the memo written by the FDA's chief medical and scientific officer, Vinay Prasad, did not disclose the ages of the children or their health conditions or the vaccine manufacturing companies involved.
Prasad is quoted as saying that these findings are a "profound revelation" and announced plans for stricter surveillance of vaccines, including the need for randomized studies for all groups.
The newspaper reported that the CDC's Vaccine Committee will meet in the coming days.
Prasad, an oncologist, was among the strongest critics of mandatory COVID vaccinations and mask mandates in the United States. He regained the position of the chief medical and scientific officer at the FDA in September. He advises the commissioner and senior officials on emerging medical and scientific issues affecting regulatory science and public health.
