The “We Can Do This” COVID Public Health ‘Education’ Campaign: Committee makes recommendations

“The House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations conducted an investigation into the effectiveness and scientific accuracy of the ‘We Can Do This’ COVID-19 vaccine promotional campaign (“Campaign”) launched by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership with the Fors Marsh Group (FMG), which describes itself as a full-service behavior change research and strategy firm. This nationwide multimedia advertising campaign ran from August 2020 through June 2023 and cost over $900 million in taxpayer funds.”

In light of the findings of the report, which I recommend everyone read, the Committee makes the following recommendations: 

Congress should consider formally authorizing the CDC and clearly define the agency’s core mission

The CDC, unlike other major agencies, has never received full Congressional authorization. There is no single enabling statute that defines the agency’s overall mission and structure. The lack of authorization has blurred the lines on the agency’s responsibilities to lead on issues related to communicable disease, resulted in rampant mission creep, and has led many to question whether the CDC is able to execute on its intended and primary mission of detecting and combatting public health threats, as evidenced by the CDC’s botched handling of the COVID-19 response. 

HHS and its agencies should abide by the FDA’s product labeling guidelines and should be barred from promoting information regarding an FDA-regulated product that does not reflect the FDA-approved label

FDA product labels are authorized or approved only after extensive review and play a major role in the presentation of safety and effectiveness information. Public health messaging by all HHS departments must abide by the product labeling guidelines and be barred from promoting messages that go beyond, or otherwise conflict with, the approved or authorized label for a vaccine, drug, or related product.

Congress should consider clarifying responsibility for evaluating the safety of vaccines and streamline existing reporting systems for capturing vaccine injuries and adverse reactions

There continues to be concerns over the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, including the risk of myocarditis and blood clots. The CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database is a passive surveillance system that does not establish a causal relationship between vaccine administration and the adverse event. VAERS reporting of COVID-19 vaccine injuries proved highly controversial. The FDA also monitors the safety of approved products through the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), MedWatch, and the Sentinel Initiative. When compared to VAERS, the FDA’s adverse events reporting systems appears to offer a more robust method of capturing adverse events that relies on both active and passive surveillance.

HHS and its agencies should embrace a culture of transparency and accountability

There has been a growing body of evidence on the societal damage resulting from CDC imposed mask and travel mandates, social distancing requirements, school closure guidance, and vaccine recommendations. In addition, the data supporting the benefits of such policies has been lacking throughout the pandemic and afterwards. Through the course of the pandemic and in the aftermath, one thing has become clear: the CDC did not operate in a culture of transparency. This must change.

The CDC and federal public health officials should not attempt to silence dissenting scientific opinions

Congress should safeguard medical and scientific debate from attempted   government suppression, particularly during public health emergencies, and consider appropriate legislation consistent with the First Amendment.

HHS and its agencies should overhaul their website archival process to mimic that of prior White House administrations

Throughout the writing of this report, the CDC continued to edit and erase website content unannounced. The agency’s lack of notice to changes in its record keeping and poor archival process made it nearly impossible to track down former agency actions. While parts of CDC’s former COVID-19 health guidance have been preserved on its COVID-19 Museum Timeline—albeit the more favorable parts of such guidance—the CDC has also entirely erased and replaced unscientific guidance, blatant errors, and unfavorable press releases. During the writing of this report, HHS abruptly restricted public access to view its Campaign content that was previously widely available on YouTube. These videos are no longer accessible to the public. Such editing and erasing of guidance and web content on its government-controlled website, and making taxpayer funded Campaign videos inaccessible is unacceptable, particularly considering the historic and life-altering nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. HHS must ensure proper record-keeping of its website content that comports with the same archival process as prior White House administrations.

I encourage everyone to read the entire report.