Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel was blasted by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) at a Senate hearing Wednesday for denying vaccine side effects in young males despite evidence found in six peer-reviewed papers.

Paul questioned Bancel if there was a greater occurrence of myocarditis—a type of heart inflammation—in males in the age range of 16-24 following the Moderna covid vaccine. Bancel countered by proclaiming that data revealed those who received the vaccine had a decreased possibility of myocarditis as opposed to those who contracted the virus.

“That’s not true,” responded Paul. The Senator continued with evidence found in six peer-reviewed papers which exhibited numbers showing the opposite of Bancel’s erroneous claim. “I also spoke with your president just last week and he readily acknowledged in private that yes, there is an increased risk of myocarditis,” Paul stated. “The fact that you can’t say it in public is quite disturbing.”

“Do you know when the myocarditis is most common among these adolescent boys? After the second dose,” Paul went on to explain. “You’ve been advocating for it; you’ve been interviewed, and you’ve been advocating for boosters,” Paul added and asked Bancel if it was “scientifically sound to mandate three vaccines for adolescent boys.” Bancel responded without acknowledgement of Paul’s evidence-based claims by simply stating it was up to “public health leaders to decide.”

“You sit here and act as if you’ve never heard of myocarditis and you don’t think it’s an increased risk for young adolescent males when all of the studies… have found that yes, there is an increased risk after taking your vaccine,” Paul said. Previous data showed that mostly males between the ages of 16 and 24 developed myocarditis following the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Despite these findings of increased risk of myocarditis cited in multiple papers, according to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education in Washington DC, “Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, the COVID-19 vaccine is required for school enrollment and attendance in the District of Columbia for all students who are of an age for which there is a COVID-19 vaccination fully approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”

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