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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya speak at the White House on April 18, 2026.
(Photo by Allison Robbert/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Advocates Demand Reversal of Trump FDA's 'Appalling' Censorship of Vaccine Studies
"Suppressing scientific research exposes the absurdity of Kennedy’s frequently repeated claim that he would bring ‘gold standard’ science and ‘radical transparency’ to the nation’s public health agencies."
May 06, 2026
Public health campaigners are calling on the Trump administration to end its censorship of vaccine research immediately after a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Tuesday that the agency recently blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of commonly used inoculations against Covid-19 and shingles.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the two Covid-19 vaccine studies in question were "withdrawn because the authors"—which included Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists—"drew broad conclusions that were not supported by the underlying data." The abstract of one of the studies, which had been accepted for publication in the medical journal Vaccine, stated that "no new safety concerns were found following 2023–2024 Covid-19 vaccination among US health plan enrollees aged 6 months–64 years."
The blocked shingles studies underscored the safety and effectiveness of Shingrix, according to reporting by The New York Times and Washington Post.
Dr. Robert Steinbrook, the Health Research Group director at Public Citizen, noted in a Tuesday statement that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recently blocked a Covid-19 vaccine study from being published in the agency's scientific journal.
“The censorship of FDA and CDC scientific studies because their findings undermine Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine agenda is outrageous and appalling," said Steinbrook. "Suppressing scientific research exposes the absurdity of Kennedy’s frequently repeated claim that he would bring ‘gold standard’ science and ‘radical transparency’ to the nation’s public health agencies."
“FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary and Dr. Erica Schwartz, the nominee for CDC Director, must publicly commit to reversing these decisions and allowing the vaccine studies to be promptly published," Steinbrook added. "Bona fide public health agencies do not censor bona fide vaccine research.”
Kayla Hancock, director of the advocacy group Protect Our Care’s Public Health Project, said the censorship of vaccine studies further demonstrates that "this administration does not care how many Americans suffer from preventable diseases, so long as the anti-science elements of their base keep supporting them."
"Contrary to claims of its demise, the Trump-RFK Jr. HHS anti-vax agenda is here to stay and they will keep seizing any opportunity to put politics over public health," said Hancock.
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Public health campaigners are calling on the Trump administration to end its censorship of vaccine research immediately after a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Tuesday that the agency recently blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of commonly used inoculations against Covid-19 and shingles.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the two Covid-19 vaccine studies in question were "withdrawn because the authors"—which included Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists—"drew broad conclusions that were not supported by the underlying data." The abstract of one of the studies, which had been accepted for publication in the medical journal Vaccine, stated that "no new safety concerns were found following 2023–2024 Covid-19 vaccination among US health plan enrollees aged 6 months–64 years."
The blocked shingles studies underscored the safety and effectiveness of Shingrix, according to reporting by The New York Times and Washington Post.
Dr. Robert Steinbrook, the Health Research Group director at Public Citizen, noted in a Tuesday statement that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recently blocked a Covid-19 vaccine study from being published in the agency's scientific journal.
“The censorship of FDA and CDC scientific studies because their findings undermine Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine agenda is outrageous and appalling," said Steinbrook. "Suppressing scientific research exposes the absurdity of Kennedy’s frequently repeated claim that he would bring ‘gold standard’ science and ‘radical transparency’ to the nation’s public health agencies."
“FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary and Dr. Erica Schwartz, the nominee for CDC Director, must publicly commit to reversing these decisions and allowing the vaccine studies to be promptly published," Steinbrook added. "Bona fide public health agencies do not censor bona fide vaccine research.”
Kayla Hancock, director of the advocacy group Protect Our Care’s Public Health Project, said the censorship of vaccine studies further demonstrates that "this administration does not care how many Americans suffer from preventable diseases, so long as the anti-science elements of their base keep supporting them."
"Contrary to claims of its demise, the Trump-RFK Jr. HHS anti-vax agenda is here to stay and they will keep seizing any opportunity to put politics over public health," said Hancock.
Public health campaigners are calling on the Trump administration to end its censorship of vaccine research immediately after a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Tuesday that the agency recently blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of commonly used inoculations against Covid-19 and shingles.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the two Covid-19 vaccine studies in question were "withdrawn because the authors"—which included Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists—"drew broad conclusions that were not supported by the underlying data." The abstract of one of the studies, which had been accepted for publication in the medical journal Vaccine, stated that "no new safety concerns were found following 2023–2024 Covid-19 vaccination among US health plan enrollees aged 6 months–64 years."
The blocked shingles studies underscored the safety and effectiveness of Shingrix, according to reporting by The New York Times and Washington Post.
Dr. Robert Steinbrook, the Health Research Group director at Public Citizen, noted in a Tuesday statement that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recently blocked a Covid-19 vaccine study from being published in the agency's scientific journal.
“The censorship of FDA and CDC scientific studies because their findings undermine Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine agenda is outrageous and appalling," said Steinbrook. "Suppressing scientific research exposes the absurdity of Kennedy’s frequently repeated claim that he would bring ‘gold standard’ science and ‘radical transparency’ to the nation’s public health agencies."
“FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary and Dr. Erica Schwartz, the nominee for CDC Director, must publicly commit to reversing these decisions and allowing the vaccine studies to be promptly published," Steinbrook added. "Bona fide public health agencies do not censor bona fide vaccine research.”
Kayla Hancock, director of the advocacy group Protect Our Care’s Public Health Project, said the censorship of vaccine studies further demonstrates that "this administration does not care how many Americans suffer from preventable diseases, so long as the anti-science elements of their base keep supporting them."
"Contrary to claims of its demise, the Trump-RFK Jr. HHS anti-vax agenda is here to stay and they will keep seizing any opportunity to put politics over public health," said Hancock.
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