Dr. Paul Offit

Can I ask you a question? This has been bothering me and you're really good at this, so you can answer this question. It's the question of the value of transparency. Because I lived through this with this COVID vaccine. We always say you want to be transparent, but I think transparency might be overrated. And so I want you to tell me whether or not I'm wrong. Okay.

Can I ask you a question? This has been bothering me and you're really good at this, so you can answer this question. It's the question of the value of transparency. Because I lived through this with this COVID vaccine. We always say you want to be transparent, but I think transparency might be overrated. And so I want you to tell me whether or not I'm wrong. Okay.

Can I ask you a question? This has been bothering me and you're really good at this, so you can answer this question. It's the question of the value of transparency. Because I lived through this with this COVID vaccine. We always say you want to be transparent, but I think transparency might be overrated. And so I want you to tell me whether or not I'm wrong. Okay.

When we had the bivalent vaccine, so this is June of 2022, right? We're deciding what to do. We had always used this, the ancestral strain, the original strain, the Wuhan strain. But then Omicron came into this country in December of 2021, which was a different virus. So even if you'd been vaccinated or naturally infected or both, you could still get mild disease. It was just you'd never...

When we had the bivalent vaccine, so this is June of 2022, right? We're deciding what to do. We had always used this, the ancestral strain, the original strain, the Wuhan strain. But then Omicron came into this country in December of 2021, which was a different virus. So even if you'd been vaccinated or naturally infected or both, you could still get mild disease. It was just you'd never...

When we had the bivalent vaccine, so this is June of 2022, right? We're deciding what to do. We had always used this, the ancestral strain, the original strain, the Wuhan strain. But then Omicron came into this country in December of 2021, which was a different virus. So even if you'd been vaccinated or naturally infected or both, you could still get mild disease. It was just you'd never...

been vaccinated or naturally infected. Now, you're still relatively protected against severe disease, but not mild disease. It swept across this country. And the thinking was, at the time, sensible, which is, why are we still giving this ancestral strain? Why don't we try and meet the strains that are currently circulating?

been vaccinated or naturally infected. Now, you're still relatively protected against severe disease, but not mild disease. It swept across this country. And the thinking was, at the time, sensible, which is, why are we still giving this ancestral strain? Why don't we try and meet the strains that are currently circulating?

been vaccinated or naturally infected. Now, you're still relatively protected against severe disease, but not mild disease. It swept across this country. And the thinking was, at the time, sensible, which is, why are we still giving this ancestral strain? Why don't we try and meet the strains that are currently circulating?

And so the decision was, let's give a half a dose of Wuhan and a half a dose of one of the Omicron variants, which ended up being something called BA.4, BA.5. Thus was born the bivalent vaccine introduced in 2022. That vaccine was no better than Wuhan. It wasn't. The immunological study showed it out of Harvard and Columbia. The clinical study showed it in U.S., France, and U.K. It was no better.

And so the decision was, let's give a half a dose of Wuhan and a half a dose of one of the Omicron variants, which ended up being something called BA.4, BA.5. Thus was born the bivalent vaccine introduced in 2022. That vaccine was no better than Wuhan. It wasn't. The immunological study showed it out of Harvard and Columbia. The clinical study showed it in U.S., France, and U.K. It was no better.

And so the decision was, let's give a half a dose of Wuhan and a half a dose of one of the Omicron variants, which ended up being something called BA.4, BA.5. Thus was born the bivalent vaccine introduced in 2022. That vaccine was no better than Wuhan. It wasn't. The immunological study showed it out of Harvard and Columbia. The clinical study showed it in U.S., France, and U.K. It was no better.

It was no worse, but it was no better. Do we tell people that? Because what ended up happening is we certainly didn't. I mean, doctors don't know this. Most people don't know this. There were two papers published in the New England Journal of Medicine saying this was no better. I wrote a perspective piece in the New England Journal of Medicine saying this is no better.

It was no worse, but it was no better. Do we tell people that? Because what ended up happening is we certainly didn't. I mean, doctors don't know this. Most people don't know this. There were two papers published in the New England Journal of Medicine saying this was no better. I wrote a perspective piece in the New England Journal of Medicine saying this is no better.

It was no worse, but it was no better. Do we tell people that? Because what ended up happening is we certainly didn't. I mean, doctors don't know this. Most people don't know this. There were two papers published in the New England Journal of Medicine saying this was no better. I wrote a perspective piece in the New England Journal of Medicine saying this is no better.

And my feeling was at least stop saying it's better. And we were. People were on national television saying it was better. I had to be on CNN for this. I remember with Ashish Jha, who's great. He's a brilliant guy, really smart. I think he's very good at explaining science and medicine. But he was toeing the line, which is we need to get this vaccine because it's better.

And my feeling was at least stop saying it's better. And we were. People were on national television saying it was better. I had to be on CNN for this. I remember with Ashish Jha, who's great. He's a brilliant guy, really smart. I think he's very good at explaining science and medicine. But he was toeing the line, which is we need to get this vaccine because it's better.

And my feeling was at least stop saying it's better. And we were. People were on national television saying it was better. I had to be on CNN for this. I remember with Ashish Jha, who's great. He's a brilliant guy, really smart. I think he's very good at explaining science and medicine. But he was toeing the line, which is we need to get this vaccine because it's better.

This includes the Omicron strains. Therefore, those are the strains that are circulating, so it's better. And we've never used a bivalent vaccine again for that reason, right? And so he was there. So it was Pamela Brown on CNN shows a clip of Dr. Jha saying, better need to get it. So then she turns, I'm remote, but she turns to me, she says, well, was he wrong?

This includes the Omicron strains. Therefore, those are the strains that are circulating, so it's better. And we've never used a bivalent vaccine again for that reason, right? And so he was there. So it was Pamela Brown on CNN shows a clip of Dr. Jha saying, better need to get it. So then she turns, I'm remote, but she turns to me, she says, well, was he wrong?