FDA Officials Block Publication Of Studies Supporting Safety Of COVID-19, Shingles Vaccines

The New York Times (5/5, Jewett) reports FDA officials “have blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against Covid-19 and shingles in recent months, a spokesman for” HHS confirmed. The studies “were conducted by scientists at the agency, who worked with data firms to analyze millions of patient records.” The researchers “found serious side effects to be very rare.” The Times says that “in October, the scientists were directed to withdraw two Covid-19 vaccine studies that had been accepted for publication in medical journals.” Then, “in February, top F.D.A. officials did not sign off on submitting abstracts about studies of Shingrix, a shingles vaccine, to a major drug safety conference.”