Key Takeaway:
- HHS rejected a CDC study showing Covid-19 vaccines cut ER visits and hospitalizations by about half despite prior internal approval.
- Officials cited methodological concerns, though researchers say the study used standard, widely accepted methods.
- Critics warn the decision may signal political interference in federal public health science.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rejected publication of a CDC Study that found Covid-19 vaccines cut emergency room visits and hospitalizations by about half, citing concerns over its methodology.
Officials Reject Study After Internal Approval
According to two sources familiar with the findings, the CDC Study found that Covid-19 vaccines significantly reduced severe illness among adults during the fall and winter respiratory virus season.
Despite clearing internal scientific reviews and being scheduled for publication, the agency’s flagship journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, issued an official rejection Tuesday, one source said.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, head of the CDC and director of the National Institutes of Health, blocked publication, according to the sources.
Andrew Nixon, deputy assistant secretary for media relations at the Department of Health and Human Services, confirmed the decision.
“Scientific reports are routinely reviewed at multiple levels to ensure they meet the highest standards before publication,” Nixon said. He added that editors identified concerns about the study’s methodology for estimating vaccine effectiveness.
Researchers Question Methodology Concerns
The rejected research relied on the CDC-led VISION collaboration, a long-running network that analyzes electronic health records from nine U.S. health systems to monitor vaccine performance across age groups.
Sources said Bhattacharya objected to the study’s use of a test-negative design, a widely accepted method used to evaluate vaccines for respiratory illnesses.
The approach compares vaccination status among patients seeking care for similar symptoms, distinguishing those who test positive for an infection from those who test negative. Researchers say the method helps limit bias by accounting for differences in health care–seeking behavior.
Test-negative studies are commonly used to assess vaccines against COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus.
HHS officials did not specify what methodological flaws prompted the rejection.
Former CDC Adviser Raises Political Interference Concerns
Dr. Fiona Havers, a former senior vaccine policy adviser at the CDC who resigned in June after policy changes under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., criticized the decision.
“The rejection is pretty problematic in general, because it’s a very standard, well-established study design that has been used for a long time,” Havers said.
She said the method provides real-time estimates of vaccine effectiveness during active virus seasons and allows public health officials to track trends over time.
“This network has been published in New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet and other high-profile journals in the past,” Havers said. “This seems like pretty aggressive interference by a political appointee into CDC scientific processes.”
The CDC Study’s findings remain unpublished, leaving federal health officials without an official report summarizing vaccine performance during the most recent respiratory virus season.
Public health experts say the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report traditionally serves as one of the government’s fastest channels for communicating urgent health data to clinicians and policymakers.
The Department of Health and Human Services has not indicated whether revisions could allow the study to be reconsidered for publication.
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