US Health Officials Overlooked Vast Data in Covid Vaccine Policy Shift, Memos Show
Internal memos made public through a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reveal that officials based dramatic changes to Covid vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people on scant data, overlooking hundreds of studies on safety and benefits. Critics argue this sets a dangerous precedent for prioritizing ideology over evidence in public health decisions.
Memos Expose Flawed Decision-Making Process
Dated 12 May, the memos circulated within US health agencies before HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced on 27 May via a post on X that Covid vaccines would no longer be recommended for "healthy" children and pregnant people. Kevin Ault, an obstetrician and gynecologist who served as an expert for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), stated he was "blown away" by the documents, noting officials "missed 99% of the data on the topic" they analyzed.
Naima Joseph, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Boston Medical Center and former ACIP working group member, added that the citations in the memos were "not evidence-based, but more like biased perspectives." She emphasized that this move puts the US out of step with international recommendations, such as those from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Safety and Efficacy Data Ignored in Pregnancy Recommendations
The memo on pregnancy vaccination, written by Tracy Beth Høeg, then senior adviser for clinical sciences to the FDA commissioner, included only 12 citations, two of which were her own studies. It pointed out that initial clinical trials from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax excluded pregnant women but failed to note that some participants became pregnant during trials with no adverse effects. Joseph highlighted that at least 258 studies have since demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of Covid vaccination in pregnancy, with data from the CDC showing no increased risk of complications.
Conversely, Covid infection poses significant risks, including placenta infection leading to poor intrauterine growth, prematurity, and stillbirth. Vaccinated pregnant individuals have lower risks of hospitalization, ICU admission, and pre-term delivery. Joseph warned that ending the recommendation "puts pregnant women and their infants at higher risk for preventable complications."
Children's Vaccination Recommendations Based on Incomplete Evidence
A separate memo from Matt Memoli of the NIH and Sara Brenner of the FDA claimed there was "no clear evidence" that Covid vaccine benefits outweigh risks for children under 18, yet cited a study showing Covid deaths in children fell significantly due to vaccination. Other unmentioned studies indicate vaccination reduces long-term symptoms, myocarditis, and hospitalization in children.
Benefits of maternal vaccination extend beyond birth, protecting infants under six months—who have high hospitalization rates—and preventing delayed vaccination schedules. Ault noted that confusion over maternal vaccines can "bleed over into the first year or two of vaccines for the newborn," undermining public health efforts.
ACIP Working Groups Exclude Key Experts
Under Kennedy's leadership, ACIP excluded outside obstetric and gynecological experts from working groups, leading the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to leave meetings and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to announce non-participation. This exclusion has raised concerns about the integrity of future vaccine recommendations.
The HHS did not respond to inquiries about the memos' claims by press time, leaving unanswered questions about the role of ideology in shaping US immunization policies.
