RFK Jr’s CDC delays report displaying advantages from Covid vaccine, insiders say | EUROtoday

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention delayed publishing a report displaying the advantages of the Covid vaccine, in accordance with a brand new report.

The stalled publication has sparked issues that info conflicting with the views of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a longtime vaccine skeptic — could also be sidelined. The CDC, nonetheless, insists the transfer adopted normal process.

The new report discovered that wholesome adults who acquired the Covid vaccine reduce their threat of pressing care and emergency visits by 50 %, and Covid-related hospitalizations by 55 %, in comparison with adults who didn’t obtain a dose in 2025 or 2026, in accordance with The Washington Post.

The analysis was as a consequence of be printed March 19 within the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC’s premier scientific journal.

The examine had been green-lit by the CDC’s scientific assessment course of however performing CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya delayed the report over methodological issues, two unnamed scientists accustomed to the matter informed the outlet.

The postponement occurred regardless of the CDC’s lengthy historical past of utilizing the identical methodology to evaluate respiratory virus vaccines, together with flu pictures. Those strategies additionally underpinned a 2021 New England Journal of Medicine examine on Covid vaccine effectiveness.

A spokesperson for HHS, which oversees the CDC, mentioned the performing director’s delay was common.

“It’s routine for CDC leadership to review and flag concerns about MMWR papers, especially relating to their methodology, leading up to planned publication,” the spokesperson mentioned in an announcement to The Independent.

“Dr. Bhattacharya expressed concerns about the observational method used in this study to calculate vaccine effectiveness, and the scientific team is working to address these concerns,” they added. “Dr. Bhattacharya wants to make sure that the paper uses the most appropriate methodology for such a study.”

Another HHS official informed The Washington Post that the methodology is predisposed to bias, noting it centered on hospitalized sufferers and thus fails to signify the broader U.S. inhabitants.

Bhattacharya, who can also be director of the National Institutes of Health, is now set to fulfill with CDC scientists to debate the report, the official mentioned.

Others pushed again on criticism of the report, together with Dan Jernigan, who lately led the CDC’s vaccine security workplace. Though he acknowledged the report’s methodology isn’t flawless, Jernigan mentioned it’s nonetheless well-suited for monitoring vaccine efficiency.

“It’s a real-world approach where you can’t control differences between people who get vaccinated and those who don’t, and how that influences their likelihood of getting infected,” Jernigan mentioned.

Jernigan, one in every of a number of officers who resigned final 12 months amid disputes with Kennedy, criticized the HHS secretary, noting that the report’s launch would possibly undercut his vaccine narrative.

“The secretary has already taken steps to try and remove the availability of the vaccine from children and others, so if you’re putting out an MMWR that the vaccine is effective at preventing hospitalizations and medical care visits … that message is not line with the direction you’ve been taking with the removal of the vaccine,” Jernigan informed the outlet.

Kennedy has an extended historical past of dismissing vaccines. He as soon as chaired Children’s Health Defense, a number one anti-vaccine group, and known as Covid pictures “the deadliest vaccine ever made.”

In September 2025, whereas chatting with lawmakers concerning the improvement of Covid vaccine coverage, he claimed: “We were lied to about everything.”

At HHS, Kennedy has overseen quite a lot of coverage adjustments with regards to inoculations. Last 12 months, the previous environmental lawyer directed the CDC to drop its Covid vaccine suggestion for kids and wholesome pregnant ladies, a transfer that drew criticism from public well being specialists.

Last month, Kennedy-appointed advisers thought-about ending suggestions for Covid mRNA vaccines however in the end shelved the plan.

The newest incident underscores competing factions inside and outdoors the administration on vaccine coverage, The Washington Post reported. While some officers search to halt additional adjustments earlier than the midterms, some advocates are urgent Kennedy to double down on his vaccine skepticism.

Public opinion on the Covid vaccines stays divided. According to a September 2025 YouGov survey, 41 % of Americans consider the advantages of the Covid vaccine outweigh the dangers, whereas 39 % consider they’re about equal or outweighed by dangers.