By Caroline Boda | The Center Square
(Worthy News) – A U.S. Senate hearing to examine deaths and cognitive delays caused by vaccines revealed a shared belief between Democrats and Republicans that the pharmaceutical industry lacks adequate oversight.
Families of children and teenagers who were injured after receiving the influenza, HPV and MMR vaccines shared their stories in front of a congressional panel Tuesday. Top committee members on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns of how the witnesses’ testimonies demonstrated an “immunity from legal responsibility” within big pharma.
Chairman Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., criticized the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for allowing pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to consumers on TV. Johnson said drug companies spent an estimated $10 billion on consumer advertising in 2024, making up almost 25% of evening ad minutes.
Johnson argued that the massive amount of money garnered from this advertising allows the industry to “control the narrative and suppress stories of drug and vaccine injuries.”
The panel’s top Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., shared Johnson’s concerns of big pharma and pledged to co-sponsor a bill banning pharmaceutical advertisements on TV. Blumenthal questioned whether the U.S. government holds the pharmaceutical industry to the same standards as other industries.
“I am extremely suspicious as a lawyer of immunity that is granted in any blanket way across the board to any manufacturer,” Blumenthal said.
Committee members conveyed interest in reforming the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a program which provides legal immunity to pharmaceutical manufacturers, according to the panel. One witness said the program provided no relief to his family over 16 years to support his son who requires around-the-clock care.
“If there are reforms in the law that could come of [this hearing] to improve the law, I would explore them,” Blumenthal told The Center Square.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
A passenger aircraft carrying 55 people made an emergency landing in shallow water near the main airport in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Tuesday after suffering technical problems shortly after takeoff, but all aboard miraculously survived without serious injuries, authorities said.
Saudi Arabia has launched the largest reconstruction initiative in Syria since U.S. sanctions were lifted, positioning the kingdom as a central driver of Syria’s postwar recovery.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United States has given Kyiv and Moscow another deadline to reach a peace agreement, proposing that the nearly four-year war should end by June, as Russia escalates air strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Wednesday with President Donald Trump at the White House, as negotiations with Iran enter a decisive and potentially volatile phase. The meeting, set for 11:00 a.m. Washington time, will mark Netanyahu’s seventh face-to-face encounter with Trump since the U.S. president began his second term, underscoring the unusually close relationship between the two leaders.
With the deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security only days away, Democrats have refused an offer from the White House to strike a compromise over Immigrations and Customs Enforcement changes.
President Donald Trump is weighing deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East as the U.S. continues talks with Iran over its nuclear program.
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Republicans in Congress are pushing forward multiple bills that would standardize election security requirements nationwide.