NY Times takes aim at RFK, Jr. and his new COVID vaccine workgroup–but misses. Doesn’t NYT have fact checkers or editors?

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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/health/covid-vaccines-rfk.html

The Times quotes vaccine researcher Ed Belongia on the wonderfulness of the work he did with CDC, claiming the “trust” the public had for their work is now gone:

Dr. Edward Belongia, a vaccine expert who was a member of a previous Covid task force until he retired in May, said his team worked closely with C.D.C. officials who did in-depth analysis to examine any possible safety concerns. His group reviewed health issues including myocarditis and a rare clotting disorder linked to one vaccine. He said the integrity of the team was not questioned.

“That trust is gone now with an anti-vaccine zealot in charge,” he said. “And if they make some claim about safety, no one’s going to know whether or not they can believe it.”

Prof. Ed Belongia used to work for the CDC directly as an Epidemic Intelligence Officer. He has gotten numerous grants from CDC over the years to study vaccines. How many millions altogether, I don’t know, but here is one of the latest grants, for $4 million. Why did the Times quote him on integrity, but fail to mention his huge financial conflict of interest that would, obviously, induce him to favor his own and CDC’s past work? Why should we trust this hired gun?

https://www.wxpr.org/news/2020-10-15/marshfield-clinic-receives-grant-for-covid-19-study

The same reporter who wrote this article, Christina Jewett, worked very hard to try to drum up financial conflicts of interest for the new ACIP members in a recent NYT article she cowrote, but had trouble making the case. Funny how her assiduous search for conflicts of interest in new ACIP members (Belongia is a former ACIP member) disappeared when she decided to use Belongia as a source. Here is how that article was framed:

Here is another misstep from Christina:

Mr. Kennedy has also begun efforts to overhaul the federal vaccine injury court, which has long been a target for him and for anti-vaccine groups that have claimed, incorrectly, that the courts confer strong liability protection to vaccine makers.

Christina, did you not know that it was Congress that conferred liability protection on vaccine manufacturers? You are the one making incorrect claims. The vaccine court is not even a real court. It is run by administrative Special Masters picked by HHS, which has nothing to do with vaccine manufacturers. The Special Masters just decide whether injured parties who have applied for benefits were injured by vaccines. That is all they do.

Christina is also appalled that CDC work groups will continue in the same tradition they have always used: closed meetings. ACIP meetings, OTOH, are open, according to federal advisory committee rules.

The new group, however, declared it plans to continue the tradition of holding closed meetings. Its meetings and materials are to be “considered confidential,” according to a group document.

Poor Christina. Furiously digging up dirt on the new kids in town and burying dirt on the old kids must be horrifying for a real journalist. But fun perhaps for some people.