Trump’s CDC blocked publication of a study showing Covid vaccines reduced emergency visits and hospitalizations by roughly 50%, citing unspecified methodology concerns
CDC acting head Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of Covid vaccines, suppressed the report despite it passing scientific review and using methodology the agency has applied in other recent studies
The suppression is the latest in a series of actions by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the CDC undermining vaccine policy, including a federal court ruling that Kennedy illegally reconstituted the agency’s vaccine advisory committee
The Trump administration’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not release a new report showing that patients who received Covid vaccines were 50% less likely to require emergency department or hospital visits, according to the New York Times.
The study was originally set to be published in a CDC report in March, showing that people who were vaccinated for Covid between September and December 2025 visited urgent cares and emergency rooms for Covid cases 50% less, the New York Times reported. Hospitalization risk fell by about 55% for vaccinated patients compared to non-vaccinated individuals.
While the study passed the CDC’s scientific reviews, CDC acting head Jay Bhattacharya, a known critic of Covid vaccines according to Politico, blocked its publication, claiming issues with its methodology without further explanation. The study used a basic calculation comparing vaccination status of patients seeking care.
The Independent reported the CDC has published numerous studies using that same methodology, including two in recent months on flu shot efficacy and Covid vaccine effectiveness in children.
Bhattacharya is the acting head of the CDC in the absence of a director; the position has been empty for eight months, according to Science, after the previous director, Susan Monarez, was fired after four weeks on the job. Monarez reportedly opposed Health and Human Services’ director Robert F. Kennedy’s policy changes weakening vaccine policies.
Erica Schwartz, deputy surgeon general during the first Trump administration, was recently nominated to serve as CDC head, pending her confirmation.
The CDC’s decision to not publish the report is the federal government’s latest effort to downplay the effectiveness of vaccines. Earlier this week, Kennedy said during a congressional hearing he wouldn’t commit to implementing vaccine guidance Schwartz would adopt should she be confirmed.
Kennedy also claimed, despite long ties to anti-vaccination groups including chairing the Children’s Health Defense nonprofit, according to NPR, that he was not responsible for and did not contribute to measles outbreaks continually roiling the United States for more than a year, the Times reported.
In 2025, Kennedy also fired all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, replacing them with skeptics. A federal court judge ruled in March that Kennedy had illegally reconstituted the committee, according to NBC News. Kennedy has since sought to change the committee’s rules to nullify that ruling.
By Joe O’Leary
