The Charlie Kirk Show
Episode: "Vaccines: What Should A New Parent Do?"
Date: January 17, 2026
Host: Charlie Kirk
Guests:
- Dr. Joel "Gator" Warsh, MD, integrative pediatrician, author of Between a Shot and a Hard Place
- Aaron Siri, civil rights attorney, managing partner of Siri & Glimstad LLP, author of Vaccines: Amen
Moderator/Contributor: Riley Marty (referred to as Riley)
Episode Overview
This special episode tackles the evolving landscape of childhood vaccination in America—particularly advice for new parents amidst changing CDC recommendations, controversy regarding vaccine risk/benefit, and the broader question of how parents can make informed choices. Charlie Kirk leads a wide-ranging discussion with an integrative pediatrician and a prominent civil rights attorney, focusing on the hepatitis B vaccine, informed consent rights, community versus individual protection, vaccine research shortcomings, and the controversy linking vaccines and autism. Throughout the episode, both guests emphasize risk/benefit calculations and parental autonomy, while questioning the mainstream medical consensus.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Changes to Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation
[01:09-09:35]
- CDC Update: As of December 5th, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 8-3 to drop the universal recommendation for newborn hepatitis B vaccination, now recommending it only for high-risk groups or based on shared clinical decision-making rather than blanket advice.
- Background: Originally, the vaccine was recommended for all infants to drive new cases down to zero, even though the main transmission risk was from Hep B positive mothers.
- Dr. Warsh: “It’s extremely rare for a baby born to a hepatitis B negative mother to get hepatitis B—maybe one in a million or one in seven million.”
- Risk-Benefit Question: Discussed the morality and utility of vaccinating millions of low-risk newborns to possibly save one child, especially when even rare vaccine risks exist (e.g., fever, encephalitis).
- Siri: “I can tell you definitively that babies have died on their first day of life from the hep B shot. ... But I've never seen a case of a baby dying of hepatitis B on their first day.”
2. Informed Consent and Medical Rights
[10:30-17:16]
- Hospital Practices: Many hospitals administer the Hep B shot without thorough parental consent; in some cases, parents’ explicit written refusals have been ignored, and threats about reporting to CPS have been made.
- Siri: “We probably have about over 100 clients like that at the firm right now.”
- Riley: “A lot of moms are scared…they don’t 100% trust the establishment…even though I have it in writing and I’ve stated that I don’t want this.”
3. Debate about Risk, Benefit, and Community Protection
[20:13-21:55, 31:54-34:42]
- Schedule Changes: After dropping universal birth Hep B, recommendation is now at 2 months. There are still unresolved questions about the safety of the timing.
- Dr. Warsh: “We haven't studied those differences to see whether it is safer.”
- Herd Immunity: Not all vaccines provide community-wide protection; some only benefit the recipient.
- Dr. Warsh: “For many of the vaccines ... most of them don't protect the community. They just protect you.”
- Measles & Polio: Exceptionally contagious diseases—measles in particular—where public health arguments for mass vaccination are strongest.
- Dr. Warsh: “Measles is probably the one where that [herd immunity] discussion makes the most sense.”
4. Scrutiny of Vaccine Safety Research
[22:10-26:05, 42:06-44:52]
- Short Trials and Lack of Placebos: Hep B studies followed infants for only 5 days, with no control group, raising questions about the adequacy of safety studies.
- Siri: “The clinical trial... monitored children for five days... 147 kids, no control group.”
- Dr. Warsh: “Why would we give a vaccine to a newborn unless we had the very best safety data possible?”
- Comparison with Drug Trials: Vaccine manufacturers are shielded from liability (since 1986); thus, no financial incentive exists for more rigorous, longer, or placebo-controlled clinical trials.
5. Autonomy, Mandates, and Legal Rights
[46:45-48:53, 80:03-84:25]
- Legal Recourse: Siri’s firm has litigated hospitals for giving vaccines against parental wishes, advocates for legal recourse and medical autonomy.
- Mandates: Only a few states (CA, NY, CT, ME, WV) have strict mandates; most others allow religious or philosophical exemptions.
- Siri: “Mandates are what bullies, terrorists, and dictators use when they can't get their way on persuasion.”
6. Vaccines and Autism – Changing Official Rhetoric and Scientific Debate
[48:53-73:49]
-
CDC Language Change: In November 2025, the CDC revised its language: “Vaccines do not cause autism is not an evidence-based claim.”
- Charlie [52:34]: "This is a big old shot across the bow to the medical establishment."
-
Research Gaps: The oft-repeated “vaccines don’t cause autism” claim is not based on comprehensive evidence. The only robust studies address MMR and thimerosal, not the full schedule, nor with unvaccinated controls.
- Dr. Warsh: “All of the research is only on MMR, thimerosal…That’s not the question that parents have.”
- Siri: “If you’re gonna say vaccines don’t cause autism, you better rule out those vaccines don’t cause autism in the first six months of life…They haven’t.”
-
Depositions with Vaccine Experts: In legal depositions, leading vaccinologists have admitted there's no evidence showing that many individual vaccines do not cause autism.
- [65:41] *Siri*: “So the study said that...” - [66:21] *Siri*: “...you’re willing to tell a parent that vaccines don’t cause autism, even though the science isn’t there to support it?” - Response from top vaccinologist: “Yes.”
7.Parental Experiences and Listening to Moms
[92:30-94:58]
- Parental Reports: Large numbers of parents say their children changed after vaccination—mainstream establishment dismisses these anecdotes, but Warsh calls them vital data.
- Dr. Warsh: “Why would we not listen to those parents?... Parents say this... That’s important data.”
8. Pregnancy, In-Utero Vaccines, and Overarching Parental Guidance
[95:58-99:29]
- In-Utero Vaccines: Moms are often told they “must have” certain vaccines during pregnancy, but nothing is mandatory—parents should understand possible risks and benefits.
- Dr. Warsh: “It's not forced... They're just recommendations.”
9. Chronic Disease and the Changing Health of U.S. Children
[86:59-91:49]
- Chronic Conditions: Huge increases in chronic illness among U.S. children since the 1980s—guests urge ruling out vaccines as a contributing factor with proper studies.
- Siri: “Why don’t you start with ruling out the products that you now inject 29 times by the first birthday…rule those out.”
- Need for Studies: The absence of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated long-term cohort studies is a central concern for both guests.
10. Final Policy Thoughts and RFK’s HHS Direction
[99:29-end]
- RFK & HHS: Both guests express support for openness and willingness to re-examine vaccine science under RFK's HHS.
- Dr. Warsh: “I think we’re moving in an excellent direction... until we have that data, I don’t think you can honestly give a specific answer.”
- Siri: “He’s fighting every day... because he’s seen what I’ve seen.”
Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)
-
On rarity of Hep B threat to newborns:
Dr. Warsh [05:00]:
“You have to ask, giving this vaccine to 3 million kids that don’t necessarily need it to protect one kid, is that worth it?” -
On vaccine rights violations:
Aaron Siri [12:46]:
“We’ve had [parents threatened with CPS over refusing Hep B] happen a few times.” -
On safety trials for vaccines:
Aaron Siri [22:10]:
“Clinical trial... monitored children for five days for safety after injection. That’s it. Five days. 147 kids in no control group.” -
On herd immunity and direct benefit:
Dr. Warsh [21:21]:
“Most of them don’t protect the community. They just protect you.” -
On religious fervor in vaccinology:
Aaron Siri [62:24]:
“Vaccines are a religion. ... It’s a perverted religion, but it is a religion because they’ll say things like ‘vaccines don’t cause autism.’ ... The crazy thing is, they believe these things. They believe vaccines are safe a priori without any data.” -
On the need for respect in debate and parental freedom:
Dr. Warsh [84:25]:
“Dr. is literally the word docere. It means to teach. It’s not to force. My job is not to force somebody to do anything.” -
On confusion and lack of data for parents:
Charlie [98:20]:
“It’s just one of those topics where there just seems to be so much outstanding that we don’t know yet.” -
On autism and data:
Dr. Warsh [101:22]:
“I think it’s both things are true, but there’s a real increase [in autism] and a massive increase.”
Notable Timestamps for Key Segments
| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------------|---------------| | Introduction & Hep B recommendation | 01:09–09:35 | | Informed consent and legal implications | 10:30–17:16 | | CDC language change & autism debate | 52:34–73:49 | | Depositions w/ vaccine experts | 63:49–68:32 | | Parental reports post-vaccine | 92:30–94:58 | | In-utero vaccines, new mother advice | 95:58–99:29 |
Episode Tone
The tone is earnest, questioning, and sometimes skeptical of mainstream medical and regulatory authorities—focusing on empowering parental choice while challenging the sufficiency of vaccine safety research. The guests (especially Dr. Warsh and Siri) emphasize they're not "anti-vax," but expect honesty, transparency, and robust data to underpin medical recommendations.
Conclusion
The episode offers an in-depth, candid discussion of vaccine schedules for new parents. It challenges the robustness of clinical safety data, supports parental autonomy, and emphasizes individual, risk-based decisions over mandates—especially as the CDC revises recommendations and as public health policy shifts under RFK’s HHS leadership. Both expert guests advocate for more transparent and comprehensive vaccine research and call on medical authorities to listen to and respect parental experiences and concerns.