Source: ChildrensHealthDefense.org
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bankrolled the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to the tune of $11 million to promote COVID-19 vaccination as “safe and effective” for pregnant women, according to an investigation published this week by attorney Maggie Thorp.
Documents obtained by Thorp through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request revealed that the CDC and ACOG entered into multiple “cooperative agreements” to carry out work largely designed and controlled by the CDC and contingent on ACOG’s adherence to the CDC’s policies on COVID-19 infection and control.
ACOG is the “premier” professional membership organization for obstetricians and gynecologists with more than 60,000 members across the Americas, its website reports.
Broadly, the grants supported the development of social media communications strategies, toolkits supporting “effective COVID-19 vaccination conversations” between doctors and patients, and the hiring of a global public health communications firm, APCO Worldwide, to produce various communications materials.
According to Thorp, from December 2020, when the vaccines came on the market, through July 21, 2021, ACOG held a neutral position on vaccination during pregnancy, recommending that pregnant women “be free to make their own decision regarding COVID-19 vaccination.”
But that recommendation “abruptly changed on July 30, 2021,” Thorp said, to recommend vaccination for pregnant women.
Today, ACOG “recommends that all eligible persons aged 6 months and older, including pregnant and lactating individuals, receive a COVID-19 vaccine or vaccine series,” and a booster.
The money for the grants comes from COVID-19-related federal funding opportunities, such as the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act and the CARES Act, according to the grant documents.
Grant recipients, and any “flow-down” organizations they may award money from these grants to, must comply with “existing and future directives and guidance” from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the CDC’s parent organization, regarding the control and spread of COVID-19.
That also includes sharing any data collected in grant-funded activities, including COVID-19 testing data, with the CDC….