In recent months, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) blocked studies demonstrating the safety of several vaccines, the New York Times reported Tuesday, citing a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services who confirmed the report.

Two of the withdrawn studies, carried out by the department in recent years, found that serious side effects to commonly used COVID vaccines were rare. In the studies, which cost taxpayers millions of dollars, scientists in the department analyzed millions of patient records.

In October, scientists were ordered to withdraw the two studies despite medical journals having already accepted them, the Times reported.

Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said in an email, as quoted by the Times, that “The studies were withdrawn because the authors drew broad conclusions that were not supported by the underlying data. The F.D.A. acted to protect the integrity of its scientific process and ensure that any work associated with the agency meets its high standards.”

Donald Trump’s administration’s relationship with vaccines has been spotty in the past, and segments of the GOP have echoed skepticism about vaccinations, especially concerning COVID. Conspiracy theories surrounding vaccines, such as the claim that they can cause autism, are scientifically unfounded but grew increasingly popular during the pandemic, a part of a larger phenomenon of health misinformation in the modern era.

During the 2024 presidential election campaign, Trump promised to give anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. a prominent role in the White House’s health care section. Days after winning the election, Trump announced he would nominate Kennedy for Secretary of Health and Human Services, despite over 75 Nobel laureates and 17,000 doctors publicly opposing the move.

Apart from anti-vaccine theories, Kennedy has spread claims that chemtrails are designed to harm people and that circumcision causes autism, among other debunked or unsupported theories. Despite this, the Senate confirmed his appointment in a vote close to party lines.

Since then, Kennedy has made significant reforms in how the US government handles vaccines. In February 2025, Kennedy forced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop advertising flu vaccinations. In December, an advisory committee made up largely of his appointees voted to end the CDC’s recommendation that newborns receive Hepatitis B vaccinations.

When Kennedy removed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the CDC on vaccines, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, called Kennedy’s mass ouster “a coup.”

“It’s not how democracies work. It’s not good for the health of the nation,” Benjamin told The Associated Press.