U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, released nearly 2,000 pages of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) records and sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., on Mar. 25 regarding the Biden administration’s response to COVID-19 vaccine safety signals.
The release is significant because it highlights questions about how health officials handled early warnings of potential adverse events related to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 bivalent booster among individuals aged 65 and older.
According to documents cited by Johnson, as early as November 2022, federal vaccine safety surveillance systems began detecting statistically significant signals for ischemic stroke following administration of the booster in this age group. Despite these findings, Johnson said that in December 2022 the White House and HHS focused efforts on increasing booster uptake among seniors instead of issuing formal public warnings. Edits made by administration officials to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration communications plan reportedly downplayed the significance of these signals by changing language from “moderately elevated” risk to “slightly elevated.”
In January 2023, even while surveillance continued detecting significant safety signals for ischemic stroke, health officials posted on FDA’s website that “no change is recommended in COVID-19 vaccination practice.” Behind closed doors, however, they initiated multiple studies—including a “Stroke Project”—to further investigate these concerns through at least September 2025.
“I am sharing my preliminary findings to provide HHS and the public with even more evidence of the Biden administration’s unsupported and unyielding devotion to a harmful vaccine at the expense of the public’s health,” Chairman Johnson wrote.
Johnson’s ongoing investigation seeks additional information about when federal agencies became aware of these risks. He noted that “the full extent of HHS’s awareness…remains incomplete and key records are still missing.” The released documents also include internal communications acknowledging statistical limitations in their data analysis methods known as empirical Bayesian data mining.
Johnson chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations while serving on several Senate committees including Finance, Budget, and Special Committee on Aging according to his official website. His office supports Wisconsin residents with constituent services across Milwaukee, Madison, Oshkosh—where he resides with his family—and Washington offices according to his official website. He has prioritized oversight responsibilities as part of his committee roles according to his official website.
The broader implications may affect public trust in government communication about vaccine safety protocols. As investigations continue into agency responses during pandemic vaccination campaigns, observers await further disclosures or policy recommendations.
