A new Senate report raises serious concerns about transparency in public health messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Released by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the interim report accuses the Biden administration of knowingly delaying public warnings about a potential link between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and heart inflammation—specifically myocarditis—in young adults.
Johnson, chair of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has been digging into vaccine safety and claims the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) withheld critical data. After subpoenaing thousands of internal documents, Johnson says the findings reveal that U.S. officials were aware of myocarditis risks as early as February 2021—after alerts from the Israeli Ministry of Health—but chose not to issue a formal nationwide warning.
Instead of activating the CDC’s Health Alert Network to inform clinicians and public health officials, the CDC quietly added myocarditis notes to its website. Meanwhile, internal emails and meeting notes show that both the CDC and FDA were in active conversations with Pfizer and Moderna about the issue, and even acknowledged safety signals in young people through the VAERS reporting system by late spring.
Yet the official vaccine labeling wasn’t updated until the end of June 2021.
The report also draws comparisons between COVID-19 vaccine-related deaths reported to VAERS and those associated with the flu vaccine, highlighting a stark contrast and calling into question whether Americans were given a full picture of potential risks.
Johnson’s conclusion is pointed: “The American people deserve transparency.” He argues that critical health data was downplayed to preserve vaccine confidence, possibly at the expense of informed consent and public trust.
With more documents pending release, the report promises that this investigation is far from over.
