RFK Jr. asked CNN's Dana Bash to show him one study showing children were protected by the COVID vaccine. On air, she didn't produce one.

We rate "you're talking about studies that actually don't exist" mostly-false — truth score 0.15, confidence 0.85.

On August 3, 2026, PBD Podcast #839 replayed the clip from Kennedy's August 2 State of the Union interview and added a verdict the tape doesn't contain: "She can't cite the study." The claim under review isn't "the vaccine is bad for kids." It's narrower — that no study exists showing children experienced more benefit than harm.

The steelman is real, and we take it seriously. The pediatric evidence base is substantially observational. Several authorizations, especially in the youngest age bands, rested on immunobridging rather than randomized outcome trials; CDC's own GRADE assess ...