Authors: \u00a0Zachary Stieber\u00a0May 13, 2022 The Epoch Times<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC<\/a>) says it does not have documents backing its claim that COVID-19<\/a> vaccines do not cause variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CDC\u2019s website calls it a myth that the vaccines cause variants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFACT: COVID-19 vaccines do not create or cause variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Instead, COVID-19 vaccines can help prevent new variants from emerging,\u201d the website states<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNew variants of a virus happen because the virus that causes COVID-19 constantly changes through a natural ongoing process of mutation (change). As the virus spreads, it has more opportunities to change. High vaccination coverage in a population reduces the spread of the virus and helps prevent new variants from emerging,\u201d it also says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), a nonprofit, asked the CDC in Freedom of Information Act requests for documentation supporting the claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In one request, the group asked for \u201cAll documents sufficient to support that COVID-19 vaccines do not create or cause variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another requested \u201cAll documents sufficient to support that the immunity conferred by COVID-19 vaccines does not contribute to virus evolution and the emergence of variants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CDC has now responded to both requests, saying a search \u201cfound no records responsive\u201d to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first response came in January (pdf<\/a>); the second came on May 4 (pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the CDC is making declaratory statements, the agency should have documents supporting them, Aaron Siri, an attorney representing ICAN, told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The responses are \u201cvery troubling,\u201d Siri said. \u201cI thought the CDC was a data-driven organization, that they made their decisions based on the studies and the science and the data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CDC did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ICAN has been one of the more prolific requesters of information from the CDC during the pandemic. Many requests have yielded information. Others have not<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this case, the CDC should act to ensure continued public trust, Siri says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRemove the language or provide the evidence,\u201d he said. \u201cThere obviously are going to be instances where recommendations from the CDC might prove helpful or useful. And I think they do a disservice to everybody by hurting their own credibility by making statements that they either don\u2019t have support or won\u2019t produce the support for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scientists outside the CDC have also said that vaccines can help prevent new variants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs more people get vaccinated, we expect virus circulation to decrease, which will then lead to fewer mutations,\u201d the World Health Organization says on its site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n