CNN Host Defending “Vaccines” Stumped When Challenged by GOP Senator

(DCNF)—Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin stumped CNN host Kasie Hunt on Thursday after she defended vaccines for children and he asked if she knew the difference between the number of vaccines given to children in 1980 compared to 2025.

During a Senate Finance Committee hearing the same day, Democrats tore into Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. because he questioned certain vaccines for children. Some called for his resignation. While discussing the hearing on “The Arena,” Hunt asked Mullin if he believes more children could get sick if they don’t follow the recommended vaccine regimen, adding that his state requires six different vaccines for kids to attend school.

Mullin responded by asking Hunt if she knew how many vaccines are administered to children “all the way through before they go to school, college.” Hunt said that Kennedy’s “answer would be about 76,” before adding that the HHS estimate is somewhat obscured.

“And what was it in 1980?” Mullin asked.

“Sir, I, this is, I don’t know, because I didn’t vaccinate kids in 1980!” Hunt said. “I’m doing it now, so I know the vaccine’s coming out.”

During the 1980s, children were recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to receive an estimated eight to 10 doses covering about six to seven diseases before entering school. However, under the current 2025 CDC schedule, children are expected to receive over 30 doses to cover more than 16 diseases.

“And I would just like to clarify that 76 is misleading,” Hunt said. “It is used by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but it counts up the number of times there are, say, three courses for MMR, right? You need three shots over the years to get vaccinated for MMR. So when you count them all up, it’s 76. But it’s misleading because the number of diseases that you’re vaccinating against is closer to 20.”

“OK, well, let’s just use, is it being effective?” Mullin asked. “Because … if we’re looking at 76 percent of the population now has chronic illness, one out of every 10 kids today have autism. What is it? Are we healthier as a nation or are we not?”

Hunt continued to press the Republican senator, asking why the issue had resurfaced. Mullin responded that while it’s unclear if vaccines are the root cause of autism, Kennedy is simply questioning the science.

Hunt then asked Mullin if he’s willing to “risk kids dying of measles,” prompting him to say that Republicans are not “anti-vaccination for measles.”

“More kids have died of measles in this country this year than, you know, in decades,” Hunt said.

“Well, if you want to get into that, we can talk about the openness of the southern border and what caused that. Because you had an inflation [of] over 20 million people that came over illegally underneath the Biden administration that wasn’t vaccinated,” Mullin said. “We’re not talking about measles outbreaks from kids that were born and raised here inside the United States. We’re talking about ones that were brought over here illegally. And you can make that connection. No one can argue that.”

During his hearing, Kennedy outlined the CDC’s “disastrous” failures regarding their “nonsensical policies” during the COVID-19 shutdown, which included the closure of small businesses, schools shutting down for nearly two years and masking policies, even for children.

The CDC has faced major public backlash over its recommendations and handling of COVID-19, particularly regarding vaccines. In 2022, the agency presented a pre-print study to its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) warning of COVID-19 risks to children, though the data was widely considered misleading. Despite the flawed study, the ACIP voted to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged six months through four years.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/CNN/”The Arena with Kasie Hunt”)

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