Episode #24 Deep Dive – The Rise of AI Death Panels — and What’s Next

A deep dive into this week's episode of Paging America

Sep 20, 2025

Senate HELP Committee Hearing with Susan Monarez and Debra Houry

Yesterday, former CDC Director Susan Monarez and former CDC chief medical officer Debra Houry appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) to discuss their firing/resignations from the CDC. Committee Chair Dr. Bill Cassidy maintained an almost neutral position and was even antagonistic toward RFK Jr. at times.

Most Republicans on the panel worked hard to discredit the two women and to portray them as vaccine zealots that want no change to current vaccine guidance and want vaccines mandated across the country. Democrats worked hard to show how Kennedy is putting politics and personal opinion over science.

One of the topics that came up was childhood vaccine schedules. Monarez told Kennedy that she would be open to changing the schedules “if the evidence or science was supportive.” Kennedy told her that there was no science or evidence associated with the childhood vaccine schedule.

ACIP meets with new RFK Jr. appointees

The CDC’s vaccine advisory group, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), met for the first time since RFK Jr. replaced all of its members with his own picks. They met to consider their recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines, MMRV vaccine, and the childhood schedule for the hepatitis B vaccine. The meeting started off with the new Chair, Martin Kulldorff, all but challenging his detractors to a duel:

“We are currently experiencing heated controversies about vaccines, and a key question is: Who can you trust?” Kulldorff said.
“Here is my advice. When there are different scientific views, only trust scientists who are willing to engage with and publicly debate the scientists with other views,” he said. “With such debates, you can weigh and determine the scientific reasoning by each side, but without it, you cannot properly judge their arguments.”

The meeting then proceeded and was a colossal clown show. The first day they voted one way on two vaccines. The next day, they changed their minds:

In a surprise move on Friday morning, a panel of vaccine advisors to the federal government backed off from a proposed change to the vaccine schedule that would have scrapped the current recommendation that all children receive the hepatitis B shot at birth.
It also reversed a vote it took yesterday on coverage for a shot known as the MMRV — measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (or varicella). Yesterday, the panel said the Vaccines for Children program could cover the combined shot if parents want it — Friday they voted that it shouldn't. The MMRV shot is no longer recommended to be given, and it will not be paid for by government insurance.

Kulldorff acknowledged their inexperience – what many would call being unqualified – saying “We are rookies,” on the opening of the second day:

As he opened it Friday morning, Kulldorff explained that the members' lack of experience led them to need to redo a vote from the previous day because the wording had been confusing.
The outcome of that re-do was to change the insurance coverage of the MMRV vaccine for low-income children. On Thursday, the panel ended with a split vote: MMRV shots were not recommended, but they would be paid for by the government. Friday's re-do vote made it all align — not recommended, not allowed to be paid for.
Then came hepatitis B. Although some on the committee seemed enthusiastic about pushing the first dose recommendation for hepatitis B from birth to 1 month of age, after some discussion, there was a revolt against tackling the issue at all.
"I move to postpone the question indefinitely," Dr. Robert Malone, an ACIP member and close associate of Kennedy, said. "I believe that there's enough ambiguity here and enough remaining discussion about safety, effectiveness and timing that I believe that a vote today is premature."
That seemed to take Kulldorff by surprise. The committee voted 11 to 1 to table action on the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine, with Kulldorff as the lone dissent.

They then took on COVID-19 vaccines:

The [ACIP panel] voted unanimously on Friday to further limit access to Covid vaccines, recommending that adults 65 and older receive the shots only after discussing the potential benefits and risks with a health care provider.
The panel also said that everyone from 6 months to 64 years old could get the vaccine after consulting with a provider. But it was unclear whether that contradicted the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of the shots only for adults over 65 and younger people with certain health conditions.

Trump admin orders $10 million in contraceptives incinerated in Belgium

The New York Times reports that $10 Million in Contraceptives Have Been Destroyed on Orders From Trump Officials:

The pills, intrauterine devices and hormonal implants, valued at about $9.7 million, had been purchased by the agency before it was largely dismantled earlier this year. They had been stuck in a warehouse in Belgium for months, since the State Department said that contraception was not “lifesaving” and that the United States would no longer fund the purchase of birth control products for low-income nations.

Strangely, they administration says they aren’t contraceptives, they’re means to an abortion:

“President Trump is committed to protecting the lives of unborn children all around the world,” the statement said. “The administration will no longer supply abortifacient birth control under the guise of foreign aid.”

Subsequently, Belgian officials who searched the warehouse where they were being stored said they have actually NOT been destroyed. Trump administration officials, via USAID, later retracted their claim:

“There was a miscommunication with international staff and no destruction has yet happened but we are reviewing the matter,” a USAID spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

More than 70 reproductive groups are asking the Trump administration to call off their plans:

Planned Parenthood is leading the most recent charge to save the contraceptives and sent a letter…to Secretary of State Marco Rubio with 77 co-signers.
In the letter, the groups write that they “strongly oppose” the administration’s “cruel and wasteful” decision to incinerate the commodities.
“These supplies are safe, effective, and wanted,” the letter reads.