RFK Jr Accuses Fauci of 'Inexcusable Deception' Over Undisclosed Lung Injury Six Months After COVID Vaccine

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has accused Dr Anthony Fauci of an 'inexcusable deception' after the former infectious disease chief's diary revealed he suffered a lung injury months after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

Kennedy made the accusation after the public release of more than 1,000 pages of Fauci's pandemic-era diary, which became a central focus of a Senate hearing on the US government's COVID-19 response. In an interview, the US Health Secretary said the most surprising detail in the diary was Fauci's account of falling ill after being vaccinated.

'He got the vaccine to tell the Americans it's safe. And then when he got an adverse event that could have been related to the vaccine, he didn't tell anybody about it,' Kennedy said. 'That's an inexcusable deception.'

Fauci wrote that he suffered a pulmonary infarction in June 2021, about six months after receiving the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020.

A pulmonary infarction happens when part of the lung tissue is damaged because its blood supply is blocked. Pulmonary embolism, usually caused by a blood clot, is one of the common causes of the condition, according to medical literature.

No Clear Link to Vaccine

Kennedy's claim is politically explosive, but the diary entry does not prove Fauci's lung injury was caused by the vaccine. The CDC lists common COVID-19 vaccine side effects as pain or swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, nausea and fever. It also says serious adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination are rare.

The agency's public guidance does not list pulmonary infarction as a common side effect. Some studies have examined possible links between COVID vaccines and blood-clotting events, but public health experts have repeatedly said the risk of serious complications is far higher from COVID-19 itself than from vaccination.

Senate Hearing Turns on Fauci's Private Notes

The diary was released by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky before Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Paul has long accused Fauci of misleading Congress and the public over the origins of COVID-19, allegations Fauci has denied. At the hearing, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions, saying he feared his testimony could be used in an effort to prosecute him for perjury.

Republicans argued that the diary showed Fauci privately held doubts or concerns that differed from his public messaging during the pandemic. Democrats countered that Fauci was being turned into a partisan scapegoat for a crisis handled by multiple agencies and administrations.

Masks, Vaccines and Pandemic Trust Return to Centre Stage

Kennedy also used the interview to revive broader criticism of Fauci's pandemic-era guidance on masks, vaccines and social distancing. The CDC still describes masks as an additional prevention tool that can reduce the spread of respiratory viruses, especially in crowded settings or when illness is rising in a community.

Kennedy's remarks land in a wider political fight over vaccine policy. Since taking over the Department of Health and Human Services, he has faced criticism from public health groups over changes to federal vaccine recommendations and the removal of members from a key vaccine advisory panel.