Joe Biden’s health team is facing sharp scrutiny from Senate Republicans over their handling of critical vaccine safety data. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is raising explosive new questions about whether Americans were left in the dark about the risk of heart inflammation from the mRNA COVID-19 shots.
According to Fox News, a Senate report alleges that U.S. health officials deliberately withheld and downplayed information on myocarditis risk associated with the COVID-19 vaccines, delaying public warnings for months.
Johnson, who leads the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, released a 55-page interim report detailing what he says are failures by the Biden administration to be transparent about vaccine side effects. The report centers on internal records and subpoenaed communications showing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), along with the CDC and FDA, knew about links between the vaccine and myocarditis as early as spring 2021.
Sen. Johnson’s investigation uncovered that as early as May 2021, HHS officials were discussing whether to issue a nationwide Health Alert Network (HAN) message about myocarditis—a form of heart inflammation—after receiving information from Israeli health authorities. Israeli officials had already reported “large reports of myocarditis, particularly in young people, following the administration of the Pfizer vaccine.”
Instead of a broad public warning, the CDC and FDA decided merely to post “clinical considerations” about myocarditis on their website. Records obtained by Johnson’s subcommittee show that U.S. health officials were actively debating the need for a more urgent warning but ultimately chose a less visible approach. According to the documents, CDC officials were already aware of “safety signals” for myocarditis from Department of Defense and Israeli data by April 2021, yet did not inform the public immediately.
Johnson’s report highlights one internal exchange from May 2021, where officials discussed the question, “Is VAERS signaling for myopericarditis now?” The answer: “For the age groups 16-17 years and 18-24 years, yes.” VAERS, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, is the primary federal database for tracking vaccine side effects. This acknowledgment within the CDC, critics say, underscores the gravity of the information that was not widely shared with the public at the time.
The Senate report draws a striking contrast between the number of adverse events linked to the COVID-19 vaccines and those associated with other vaccines. According to the findings, as of April 25, the VAERS database had logged 38,607 deaths and over 1.6 million adverse events worldwide following COVID-19 vaccination. Of these deaths, the report notes, 25% occurred within two days of injection. For comparison, only 2,663 deaths have been reported to VAERS after flu vaccinations over the past 35 years.
Johnson and his Republican colleagues argue this data should have prompted more immediate and forceful warnings from health authorities. The report criticizes the Biden administration for what it calls a “failure to immediately warn the public about all COVID-19 vaccine adverse events,” asserting this decision “jeopardized the health of young Americans.” Johnson contends that the American people have a right to know about potential risks, especially when public health agencies are funded by taxpayers.
The report goes even further, criticizing officials who, despite knowing about the myocarditis risk, “continue to insist it is safe and effective, without providing the data to prove their claims.” Johnson is demanding that all relevant records be released and that the investigation continue until “the full extent” of the administration’s actions are exposed.
Not everyone agrees with the conclusions drawn by Johnson and his Republican colleagues. Public health experts and Democrats argue that vaccine safety monitoring is a complex process and that decisions about public alerts must be made carefully to avoid unnecessary alarm. They note that the CDC and FDA eventually updated vaccine labels in June 2021 to include warnings about myocarditis and pericarditis, reflecting new information as it became available.
Democrats contend that the Biden administration acted responsibly by waiting for more data before making broad public statements. They point out that myocarditis, while a serious condition, remains a rare side effect and that the benefits of vaccination—especially in preventing severe COVID-19—far outweigh the risks for most people. Critics of the Senate report warn that sensationalizing vaccine risks can fuel vaccine hesitancy and undermine public health efforts.
Still, the Republican-led report argues that waiting months to update labels and warnings represented an unacceptable delay. Johnson and his supporters believe that parents, especially those of young adults and teenagers, deserved full transparency much earlier in the vaccination campaign.
Johnson’s interim Senate report is not the end of the story. The senator has issued more than 70 oversight letters since 2021, many of which, he says, have been “either completely ignored or inadequately addressed” by federal agencies. His subcommittee continues to seek additional records from HHS and other agencies, with the promise to “provide transparency and let the American public see what is their right to see” as more documents become available.
The report’s release comes as vaccine safety remains a politically charged topic in Washington. Johnson’s investigation is expected to continue, with Republicans pressing for further disclosures and Democrats defending the administration’s handling of the pandemic. The debate highlights the ongoing struggle to balance transparency, public safety, and trust in medical science.
