Small Batch | The Consequences Of RFK Jr.

Summary

Truth in the Barrel: Small Batch Edition

Episode: Small Batch | The Consequences Of RFK Jr.
Release Date: June 2, 2025
Hosts: Amy McGrath & Denver Riggleman

---

Introduction

In this compelling episode of Truth in the Barrel, host Amy McGrath delves into the recent controversial decision by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to advise against COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant women. To shed light on this significant development, Amy welcomes her mother, Dr. Maryanne McGrath, a seasoned pediatrician with over five decades of medical experience.

---

HHS’s New Recommendation and RFK Jr.’s Role

The episode opens with Amy addressing the recent HHS announcement stating that the COVID-19 vaccine is not recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. This directive comes under the leadership of RFK Jr., the current Secretary of Health and Human Services, whose background includes strong anti-vaccine sentiments.

Amy McGrath [02:05]:

"RFK Jr said in his confirmation hearing that he didn't want to take vaccines away. But here we are."

Dr. Maryanne McGrath [02:42]:

"We know that this man in this position is totally unqualified...he has a long history as an anti vaxxer."

---

Assessing the Scientific Basis

Dr. McGrath critically examines the scientific validity of HHS's recommendation. She emphasizes the absence of a scientific panel or robust data supporting this stance, contrasting it with the typical evidence-based approach historically employed in vaccine recommendations.

Dr. Maryanne McGrath [04:06]:

"As far as we know, there is absolutely no scientific reason to have made this statement."

She further points out the inconsistency with other medical organizations, such as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which have expressed concerns over the new guidance.

---

Impact on Insurance Coverage and Accessibility

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the economic implications of the HHS decision. Dr. McGrath explains how insurance companies might respond by ceasing to cover the COVID-19 vaccine for groups no longer recommended to receive it, leading to potential out-of-pocket costs for families.

Dr. Maryanne McGrath [11:09]:

"Insurance companies generally allow at no cost those vaccinations which are recommended...this is purely greed."

Amy highlights the financial burden this places on families, especially those with multiple children.

Amy McGrath [14:04]:

"I got three kids, so that's 600 bucks right there."

---

Public Health Consequences of Reduced Vaccination

The hosts discuss the broader public health implications if vaccination rates among healthy children and pregnant women decline. Dr. McGrath warns of increased disease transmission and the potential rise in long COVID cases, particularly among young populations.

Dr. Maryanne McGrath [14:35]:

"We know what's going to happen because we have a model. In many other illnesses, less vaccine means more disease."

She underscores the risks associated with long COVID, especially in children under two, and the protective benefits that vaccinations provide against such long-term effects.

---

Notable Quotes

• Amy McGrath [04:38]:

  "It sounds like, mom, this is not good science and it's not based on any medical data."

• Dr. Maryanne McGrath [06:56]:

  "Where vaccines are present, disease is down, and that's still the case."

• Dr. Maryanne McGrath [10:01]:

  "Vaccinations help protect against long Covid."

---

Conclusion and Takeaways

Amy and Dr. McGrath conclude the episode by reiterating the importance of science-based medical recommendations over politically driven decisions. They emphasize the potential negative impacts on public health and individual families' finances if the current HHS guidelines persist.

Amy McGrath [16:10]:

"This is not based on data. It's not common sense. It's political, and it's going to hurt people."

Dr. McGrath agrees, highlighting the urgent need for evidence-based policies to safeguard vulnerable populations.

---

Final Thoughts

This episode of Truth in the Barrel serves as a crucial conversation piece on the intersection of politics, public health, and personal responsibility. By featuring expert insights from Dr. Maryanne McGrath, Amy McGrath provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of the ramifications stemming from HHS's recent recommendations on COVID-19 vaccinations.

---

Listen to the full episode here to gain a deeper insight into this pressing issue.

Transcript

[T-Mobile Representative]

Like your favorite travel guide, T Mobile's network knows all the spots because T Mobile helps keep you connected from the heart of Portland to right where you are on America's largest 5G network. Switch now keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off up to $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com keepandswitch up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card. Last 15 days qualifying unlock device credit service port in 90 days device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required Card is no cash access and expires in six months.

[SoFi Representative]

High interest debt is one of the toughest opponents you'll face unless you power up with a SoFi personal loan. A SoFi personal loan could repackage your bad debt into one low fixed rate monthly payment. It's even got superspeed since you could get the funds as soon as the same day you sign. Visit sofi.compower to learn more. That's sofi.com p o w E R Loans originated by SOFI bank and a member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. MLS 696891.

[Amy McGrath]

Welcome to Truth in the Barrel small batch edition. I'm Amy McGrath. Just yesterday we learned that the COVID shot in America is not recommended for healthy kids and pregnant women. That was from the Department of Health and Human Services. And, and today we have a special guest to talk about this. My mom, Dr. Maryanne McGrath, who's been a pediatrician, a medical doctor for over 50 years. And the reason why I wanted to have mom on to talk about this, because when this headline came down, I had a lot of questions about I have children like many of you and you know, I, I wanted to know, is this for real? Is this politics or what's the medical science behind it? So I'm really happy to welcome Mom. Dr. McGrath, thank you for coming on the small batch.

[Dr. Maryanne McGrath]

You're welcome.

[Amy McGrath]

All right, let's get started. RFK Jr said in his confirmation hearing that he didn't want to take vaccines away. But here we are. And this, this Health and Human Services sort of dictation, I guess that says that now in America, kids, healthy kids should not get the COVID shot. I want to start out by saying or by asking you, like, what's, what's this all about? Do you think this is just political because the guy doesn't like vaccines?

[Dr. Maryanne McGrath]

Well, history speaks, doesn't it? We know that this man in this position is totally unqualified for the position. We knew that going in. We Also know he has a long history as an anti vaxxer. And we know that most people in confirmation hearings are going to say what the people who are going to confirm them want them to say. But actions speak louder than words. As far as we know, there is absolutely no scientific reason to have made this statement. And that's quite counter to the way that decisions about vaccinations being warranted or not has been made in this country in the past. Normally when you go to make a change in any kind of recommendation, there's a panel in for the best scientific information and thinking about the change that's about to be considered. There has been no such panel invoked in this decision, which is very concerning because one has to ask is, is this the way things are going to be done in the future at the whim of a person who chooses to swim in sewer water?

[Amy McGrath]

And you're talking about RFK Jr. The Secretary of Health and Human Services. You know, and I should note that we do not have a CDC director at the moment. The NIH director, the National Institute of Health has said this is, quote, you know, saying that kids and pregnant women should not get this vaccine is, quote, common sense and good science. And it sounds like, mom, this is not good science and it's not based on any medical data. Do you agree with that?

[Dr. Maryanne McGrath]

It's absolutely, that's absolutely true. And, you know, common sense, no common sense, if it's enlightened with past experience. And a bit of science says that where vaccines are present, disease is down, and that's still the case. And so where can we look for verification for this? Just within the past week, we've had statements from, for example, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, all issuing their concerns that, hey, wait a minute, this isn't so. There's no good reason to do this. And you're talking about vulnerable populations. You know, it's interesting because we have some idea, unfortunately, of what it's like when misinformation goes out about what to do about a pandemic or a particular illness, a virus, whatever, because when Covid appeared, it appeared in a place where it had never been or never recognized, and it was devastating. And the misinformation that came from the top in this country was the bane of many people's existence. And yet there were reality tests like, you know, cold freezers, trucks outside of hospitals, because the death rate was increasing at such an alarming concern. Well, you know, we, we were able to vaccinate many people. And over the years since that appearance of the pandemic, some people have developed immunity, some because of the vaccinations, some good immunity because of vaccinations and boosters, and some immunity because they themselves had contracted the illness and. And survived. And, you know, we need to look at that because we're talking about an illness that has the potential to kill people, and it's still doing that.

[Amy McGrath]

What was interesting to me, mom, about this new advice from HHS is the fact that they said, hey, if your children are healthy, they don't need to get the shot. And I was thinking to myself, well, okay, so unhealthy kids should get the vaccine, but healthy kids shouldn't. And then pregnant women, pregnant women shouldn't get the shot. Really? Like, to me, I'm like, is there something that pregnancy changes you, that you can't get Covid? Like, still understand the logic there?

[Dr. Maryanne McGrath]

Well, you know, that's interesting that you say that, because I think, you know, the current thinking and understanding is that actually pregnancy is a time of greater risk for illness, not only for the pregnant mother, but also for the fetus, of course. And so any significant illness, flu. Let's look at another viral illness common in our society, is much more likely to cause problems for the woman and the fetus if contracted during the pregnancy. That's why we recommend flu shots for pregnant mothers. Not only that, but when a baby is born in the first six months of life, it retains some of the antibodies that were passed to it from the mother. So the mother becomes, in effect, a way of inoculating the baby, that little one in the first six months against these illnesses. We don't recommend Covid shots for infants in the first six months of life because we're hopeful that mother has protected both herself and. And her baby during her pregnancy. And children up until age 2 are really at greater risk for complications from a COVID infection, which include not only the immediate complications of the way the illness is expressing itself, for example, respiratory difficulties and so on, but also for the. For the really serious complication of long Covid. Yeah, and, you know, vaccinations help protect against long Covid. We don't have tons of data because after all, we've been collecting data until it was stopped only for the past few years because of the occurrence of the pandemic. But there's definite evidence that that tells us that vaccination will help to prevent the existence of long Covid in someone who becomes infected if they have had a vaccination.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. And the reason that I wanted to do this small batch episode, and people need to know that when the headline came out and it deals with a lot of medical stuff, the first person that I call is my mom. Okay? Because look, we're all sort of experts in different things, right? I mean, I know a lot about the military, I know a lot about national security, but when it comes to, like, vaccines and what's going on in public health, you know, mom, I call you. So the first thing I did on the drive home yesterday was call you. And you, you gave the answers to my very basic questions. And I felt like, wow, everybody needs to hear this. And one of the things that you brought up yesterday was that the consequences of this new official advice from the Department of Health and Human Services is that insurance companies can now change what they cover. Can you talk about that a little bit?

[Dr. Maryanne McGrath]

Yes, I guess, you know, that's another issue. Okay? And we're not talking about a scientific basis for this decision. This is purely greed. But insurance companies generally allow at no cost those vaccinations which are recommended. Okay? And that has been the case with the COVID vaccination. But it's a perfect economic out for the insurance companies to not cover those things which are not recommended. A very common example that has occurred within the last five years, you know, the shingles vaccination, which is actually highly effective for people who take it. The new shingles vaccination was not covered by insurance because it was not recommended for any group prior to a couple of years ago. Once it was recommended, then it's covered. But, you know, we're talking about two possibilities. We worry, for instance, that will there be enough Covid vaccination available if people want to get it? Will the company stop making as much when they know it's not going to be covered by insurance? Of course, we don't know the answer to that. But assuming that the supply would remain the same, we still have the possibility that insurance will not cover it if it is not recommended for that specific group. And of course, that specific group, as I said before, is a group that should be covered. Certainly oldies like me are going to still be covered. Okay, 60, if you're 65 and above, you've got it made because, hey, hey, your insurance will pay for your vaccination booster, which we should get. What about people who are normally concerned and normally want to provide the best protection possible for, for example, their children, their healthy children? They want them to remain healthy, which is why they get them flu vaccinated every Year. If this continues as it is, they would not be able to be reimbursed. How serious is it? Well, there have been some estimates over the past couple days that suggest that the COVID vaccination, a single booster dose, would be as much as $200.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah.

[Dr. Maryanne McGrath]

A dose. Well, hello. We're automatically counting out the most vulnerable group of people.

[Amy McGrath]

Well, I got three kids, so that's 600 bucks right there. I mean, finally. I just want to ask you, mom, the very basic. What's going to happen if less kids get this vaccine and fewer kids get this vaccine and fewer pregnant women get this vaccine? Like, what's going to happen?

[Dr. Maryanne McGrath]

Well, we know what's going to happen because we have a model. In many other illnesses, less vaccine means more disease. Okay, now, how serious will that be? Well, look at what we know so far about COVID We know that most cases of COVID do not kill people. That, of course, depends on no underlying difficulties. All right. But for healthy people, most infections with COVID do not kill people. That doesn't mean that they're innocuous, because Covid can cause some serious difficulties over a long period of time. And more importantly, we know now that there is such a thing as the lingering effects of the vax, of the illness, the virus, over many years, and we call that long Covid. It's no small thing. And if you have the incidence of that, by the way, in children under two who have not been vaccinated but have contracted, Covid is considerably higher than in a population, any population of children that's compared. It's outrageous. Do we want to take that chance with our children? I would not. I mean, I really wouldn't. You know how I feel about vaccinations. So. And.

[Amy McGrath]

And that is the bottom line here. This is not based on data. It's not common sense. It's political, and it's going to hurt people.

[Dr. Maryanne McGrath]

Yeah.

[Amy McGrath]

And that's. That's why I wanted to do this small batch with somebody who has credibility in this area. So thank you, mom, for coming on the show, and we really appreciate it.

[Dr. Maryanne McGrath]

Thanks, Amy. Thanks for asking me.

[T-Mobile Representative]

You bet.

[Libsyn Ads Representative]

Marketing is hard, but I'll tell you a little secret. It doesn't have to be. Let me point something out. You're listening to a podcast right now, and it's great. You love the host. You seek it out and download it. You listen to it while driving, working out, cooking, even going to the bathroom. Podcasts are a pretty close companion. And this is a podcast ad. Did I get your attention? You can reach great listeners like yourself with podcast advertising from Libsyn Ads. Choose from hundreds of top podcasts offering host endorsements or run a pre produced ad like this one across thousands of shows. To reach your target audience in their favorite podcasts with Libsyn Ads, go to Libsyn ads.com that's L I B S Y N ads.com today.