CDC Report on COVID Vaccine Effectiveness Delayed

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has postponed the release of a study that showed COVID‑19 vaccines significantly reduce hospital visits. The research, originally scheduled for publication on March 19 in the CDC’s weekly bulletin, found that vaccinated adults were half as likely to need urgent care and 55 percent less likely to be hospitalized compared with unvaccinated peers. Two CDC researchers spoke anonymously because they feared retaliation for revealing the study’s positive findings. The delay was attributed to concerns about methodology, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services. “Dr. Bhattacharya wants to ensure that the paper uses the most appropriate methodology for such a study, ” the statement read. However, a similar study on flu vaccines using the same methods was published in the bulletin just a week earlier.

Critics point out that this move mirrors actions taken by HHS officials who have previously questioned vaccine safety. In 2025, the Food and Drug Administration—an agency under HHS—tightened restrictions on COVID‑19 vaccine access. Former CDC safety director Daniel Jernigan said that publishing a study showing the vaccine’s effectiveness would contradict the agency’s recent efforts to limit availability. The controversy follows a pattern of vaccine skepticism promoted by HHS leadership, including former Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , who has publicly labeled the COVID shot a “deadliest vaccine ever made. ” In 2025, the agency announced plans for a large study that would withhold hepatitis B vaccines from thousands of newborns in Guinea‑Bissau, a move that medical experts condemned as unethical and politically motivated. These events add to a growing list of actions by HHS that many see as undermining public confidence in vaccines. The delayed study raises questions about transparency and the balance between scientific rigor and timely communication of public health benefits.

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