Rand Paul: "I Wouldn't Vaccinate My Kids"

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in an interview Thursday in The Hill’s Rising that he would not vaccinate his own children against COVID-19 out of concern about the risk of heart disease.

Paul, a vocal critic of pandemic policies who has frequently feuded with former White House adviser Anthony Fauci during Trump and Biden’s tenure, said the risk of myocarditis — an inflammation of the heart — is greater than vaccine makers had said . He also argued that the vaccine posed an unnecessary risk to young people.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t vaccinate my kids against COVID,” he said. “I think the risks of the vaccine are greater than the risks of the disease. The risks of the disease are almost non-existent.”

Studies have estimated that myocarditis occurs in about 1 in 15,000 men ages 16 to 19 who receive three COVID vaccines, according to the American Heart Association.

Vaccine-related COVID myocarditis is almost always mild, and patients recover within a few days, the AHA said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and most public health officials have recommended that people take COVID-19 vaccines.

Paul’s comments to Rising follow a hearing on Wednesday in which he accused Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel of lying to the public about young men’s risk of myocarditis.

“I also spoke to your president last week and he readily admitted privately that yes, there is an increased risk of myocarditis,” he said. “The fact that you can’t say it publicly is quite disturbing.”

Bancel said the risk of myocarditis from the vaccine is lower than from COVID infection.

Speaking to Rising, Paul suggested that young people should take just one COVID vaccine dose instead of multiple ones, citing a study that found that the increased risk of myocarditis in young people is mainly after the second dose of the vaccine.

“If you’re going to give them a vaccine and they’ve already had COVID, why not one instead of three? I think it’s really wrongdoing,” he said. “There’s room for debate … but I don’t think there’s evidence for administering three vaccines.”

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Paul has been consistently skeptical about COVID vaccines, especially for children and adolescents.

He has said he will not personally take a COVID vaccine, has campaigned to end vaccination mandates for military service members and said vaccines are not necessary for children.

He is also one of the leading voices calling for additional investigation into the origins of COVID-19, an advocate of the “lab leak” theory, and said senior health officials are involved in a “cover-up” of the origins of the virus.