CDC Emails Reveal Strategy to Downplay COVID Vaccine Concerns
Explosive new emails reveal that officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worked behind the scenes to downplay concerns about COVID-19 vaccine efficacy. The communications, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Public Health Reform Alliance, show agency leaders crafting public relations strategies designed to avoid “too precise” comparisons between vaccination and natural immunity.
Internal Messages and PR Strategy
On September 22, 2023, the CDC’s COVID Coordination Unit circulated an email discussing how to help Americans “more easily visualize their relative risk of getting very sick.” But the same email warned:
“Don’t want it to be too precise of a visualization such that people can infer an exact risk or protection score.”
Rather than providing clear data, the emails show the CDC shaping messaging to maintain confidence in vaccines, even as evidence mounted that natural immunity offered strong protection.
FOIA Documents and Public Trust
The nearly 600 pages of internal CDC documents were released alongside other revelations about the agency’s pandemic communications. Among them:
Plans for a “COVID Harm Reduction Visualization Tool” that highlighted masks, ventilation, and vaccines without quantifying precise protection levels.
Messaging guides labeling questions about mRNA vaccine DNA fragments as “misinformation” despite no studies conducted to resolve the concerns.
Strategies crafted by communications officials to deflect inquiries rather than provide scientific clarity.
Critics argue the CDC behaved less like a scientific authority and more like a PR arm of vaccine manufacturers and federal policymakers.
Policy Shifts and Political Fallout
The disclosures follow the firing of Trump-appointed CDC Director Susan Monarez by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pushed for more transparency around vaccine safety. The revelations also come after a House Republican panel reported that HHS spent $911 million on vaccine promotion campaigns that overstated risks to children and misrepresented masking and booster efficacy.
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo raised concerns in January 2024 about small DNA fragments in mRNA vaccines, warning of potential long-term risks — concerns the CDC dismissed without initiating further studies.
The Bigger Picture: Trust in Public Health
Public confidence in the CDC has already been shaken by reversals on masking, airborne transmission, and post-vaccination infections. These newly revealed emails confirm suspicions that the agency prioritized message control over scientific transparency.
As PHRA Director Martin Hoyt bluntly stated:
“The CDC wasn’t acting like a scientific body. It was operating as a PR arm… It reflexively ignored legitimate safety concerns and actively worked to prevent the public from knowing the truth. That’s not science. That’s propaganda.”
Conclusion: A Call for Transparency
With the president himself demanding answers from Pfizer and the CDC, these revelations mark a turning point. If the CDC wants to regain public trust, it must return to its roots: rigorous science, open debate, and transparency — not spin.
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