Trending Now - US Health Officials Halt Release of COVID Vaccine Study Findings
WHO:
NBC News - HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon stated that the MMWR’s editorial assessment identified concerns regarding the methodological approach to estimating vaccine effectiveness.
CIDRAP - Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH, a former director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, expressed that the cancelation of the report appears to be “cherry picking based on the bias of the director and others at HHS.”
ABC News - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesman confirmed the decision to halt publication.
ABC News - Dr. Fiona Havers, an Atlanta-based doctor who previously worked at the CDC.
ABC News - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat.
WHAT:
NBC News - The report had already undergone scientific review and the publication's editors had approved it before being halted.
CIDRAP - The methodology used in the report had been previously employed in a study on the flu vaccine published in February 2026 in MMWR.
CIDRAP - The report was initially scheduled to be published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on March 19th, 2026.
CIDRAP - The report showed that the COVID-19 vaccine cut the likelihood of emergency department visits and hospitalizations in half during the winter of 2025-2026.
CIDRAP - The report had cleared the agency’s scientific review process before being delayed by acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD.
ABC News - U.S. health officials stopped the publication of a study on the COVID-19 vaccine's effectiveness in preventing hospitalizations.
AP News - The research paper was to appear in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC's flagship publication.
ABC News - The new study concluded that the vaccine cut emergency room visits and hospitalizations among otherwise healthy adults by about half during the winter of 2025-2026.
WHERE:
ABC News - New York, where the U.S. health officials made the announcement.
WHEN:
CIDRAP - The CDC has been without a confirmed director since August 27th, 2025, when Susan Monarez, PhD, was pushed out.
ABC News - The decision to halt publication was confirmed on Wednesday, April 20th, 2026.
ABC News - The study was intended to report findings from the winter of 2025-2026.
WHY:
CIDRAP - Daskalakis criticized the decision to suppress the report, stating it is not a hallmark of transparent scientific expertise.
CIDRAP - HHS officials argued that the methodology used in the report was problematic due to concerns about prior infection, behavior, and differences in who seeks care.
ABC News - HHS officials cited a dispute about the study's methodology as the reason for halting publication.
AP News - HHS officials argued that prior infection, behavior, and differences in who seeks care can affect results.
HOW:
NBC News - An HHS official indicated that the authors of the manuscript did not want to adjust their methodology.
CIDRAP - A former CDC official stated that he was not aware of a report that was already cleared and scheduled for publication being blocked by leadership during his time at the agency.
ABC News - The methodology involved studying sick people admitted to hospitals or visiting emergency rooms to compare vaccination status and positive COVID-19 test results among vaccinated and unvaccinated patients.
(UPDATED April 23, 2026 19:21 UTC)
A recent report on vaccine effectiveness that had already passed scientific review and received editorial approval was abruptly halted, raising concerns about the decision-making process at the Department of Health and Human Services. Demetre Daskalakis, a former CDC director, criticized the cancellation as biased and lacking transparency, especially since the methodology had been previously used in a flu vaccine study published in February 20th26. Additionally, the CDC has been without a confirmed director since August 27thth, 2025, when Susan Monarez was removed from her position.
--
(UPDATED April 23, 2026 09:23 UTC)
A report from CIDRAP reveals that the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, initially set for publicatiMarch 19th, showed that the COVID-19 vaccine halved the chances of emergency department visits and hospitalizations during the winter of 2025-2026. However, the report was delayed by acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya due to concerns raised by HHS officials about the methodology, including issues related to prior infections and patient behavior. A former CDC official noted that he had never encountered a situation where a cleared report was blocked by leadership during his tenure at the agency.
--
(UPDATED April 23, 2026 04:06 UTC)
U.S. health officials have halted the publication of a study on the COVID-19 vaccine's effectiveness in preventing hospitalizations, which was set to appear in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The decision, confirmed on Wednesday, was attributed to a dispute over the study's methodology, with officials noting that factors like prior infection and patient behavior could influence the results. The research had concluded that the vaccine reduced emergency room visits and hospitalizations among otherwise healthy adults by about half during the winter of 2025-2026.