The FDA has blocked the publication of several studies supporting the safety of vaccines against the coronavirus and shingles in recent months, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
This is the latest effort by the Trump administration to challenge safe and effective shots in the United States and make them less accessible to some patients. Under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, federal health agencies have loosened recommendations for coronavirus vaccinations, cut back on vaccine development research and overhauled childhood immunization schedules.
The New York Times first reported Tuesday that FDA scientists worked with data companies to analyze millions of patient records for the study and found side effects from the shots were rare.
In October, scientists were told to withdraw two coronavirus studies that had been approved for publication in medical journals, the Times reported. The newspaper added that in February, FDA executives did not agree to submit a research summary on Shingrix, a shingles vaccine, to the Drug Safety Council.
An HHS spokesperson told CNBC that the recent study was “retracted because the authors drew broad conclusions that are not supported by the underlying data.”
“FDA acted to protect the integrity of the scientific process and ensure that all FDA-related work meets high standards,” they added.
When asked about the shingles vaccine study, an HHS spokesperson said planning for that study was “outside the agency’s jurisdiction.”
