Covid vaccine study released after Trump admin block

A significant study on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, previously withheld from a government health journal, has now been published in JAMA Network Open.

The research found the vaccine to be approximately 55% effective against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations and reduced emergency department and urgent care visits by 50%.

The study's publication was initially blocked by political appointees within the Trump administration from appearing in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) journal.

Acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya raised concerns about the study's 'test-negative design' methodology, arguing it was susceptible to false assumptions.

Public health experts largely defend the methodology as a reliable and widely accepted approach for assessing real-time vaccine performance, especially during a pandemic.