The research was due to be published March 19 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC’s premier scientific journal. Acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya delayed the report over methodological concerns, despite it having passed the agency’s scientific review process. The study has now been shelved altogether and will not be published.
The delay has sparked concerns that information conflicting with the views of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a longtime vaccine skeptic — may be sidelined.
I cannot recall CDC stopping an MMWR report in the publication phase after scientific clearance and editorial review. On rare occasions, we shifted the timing slightly to better align communications plans with competing or reinforcing pieces.
Reports using the same methodology have been published before in the MMWR without controversy, including a recent one on the efficacy of the flu shot and another in December on the Covid vaccine’s effectiveness in children. The CDC insists the move followed standard procedure. An HHS spokesperson said it is routine for CDC leadership to review and flag concerns about MMWR papers, especially relating to their methodology, leading up to planned publication.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the MMWR’s editorial assessment identified concerns regarding the methodological approach to estimating vaccine effectiveness and the manuscript was not accepted for publication. According to The Independent - Main, Michael Iademarco described that he cannot recall CDC stopping an MMWR report in the publication phase after scientific clearance and editorial review. It remains unclear what specific methodological concerns Bhattacharya raised about the observational study or whether the CDC will revise and eventually publish the report.
The role of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the decision is also unknown, as is how the CDC plans to address transparency concerns raised by this incident.