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FDA blocked publication of its own studies finding COVID-19 and shingles vaccines safe

On May 5, 2026, reporting revealed that FDA officials had blocked the publication of completed agency research concluding that the COVID-19 and shingles vaccines were safe. The findings contradicted the vaccine-skeptical stance of the current HHS and FDA leadership. The suppression was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by additional outlets.

Part of: Trump Administration Data and Record Suppression Campaign

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Silver Spring, Maryland (FDA / HHS)

Abuses documented

Actors

On May 5, 2026, news reporting revealed that officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had blocked the publication of completed agency studies that concluded the COVID-19 and shingles vaccines were safe. The research had been conducted within the agency, but its findings ran counter to the vaccine-skeptical positions advanced by the current leadership of the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The suppression was first reported by The New York Times and subsequently confirmed by other outlets, including The Washington Post and coverage distributed by U.S. News & World Report. According to that reporting, the studies supported the established safety profile of both vaccines, and the decision to withhold them removed federally generated safety evidence from public and clinical circulation. The action affected the agency's own scientific output rather than external research, placing a political judgment ahead of the publication of completed government findings.

Updates

2026-05-12 — Senate subcommittee demanded records on the blocked studies [4]

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Martin Makary demanding communications with the studies' authors, a complete list of studies blocked agency-wide since January 2025, and the agency's political-review policies, writing that the FDA "is no longer concerned with ensuring that vaccines are safe and effective and is instead focused on presenting a distorted vision of vaccine science to the public."

Why we recorded this

Scientific integrity requires that government safety findings reflect the evidence rather than the political preferences of agency leadership. The FDA blocked publication of its own completed studies because their conclusion — that the COVID-19 and shingles vaccines are safe — contradicted the administration's vaccine-skeptical position. Suppressing agency research on political grounds deprives the public and clinicians of federally developed safety evidence and bends the government's scientific record toward a preferred narrative.

Sources

  1. FDA halts publication of studies on covid, shingles vaccines — The Washington Post investigative accessed July 14, 2026
  2. FDA withdrew studies finding Covid and shingles vaccines were safe — CNBC investigative accessed July 14, 2026
  3. US FDA Blocked Publication of COVID, Shingles Vaccine Safety Studies — U.S. News & World Report secondary accessed July 14, 2026
  4. Letter from Sen. Blumenthal to FDA Commissioner Makary — U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations primary accessed July 19, 2026

See also