"1. Executive Summary
On January 28, 2025, Senator Ron Johnson, chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations ('PSI' or 'the Subcommittee'), subpoenaed the Department of Health and Human Services ('HHS') for records relating to COVID-19 vaccine safety data and communications about the COVID-19 pandemic. Chairman Johnson’s subpoena to HHS was a culmination of a multi-year fight to overcome the obstruction of the Biden administration to get unredacted records and data about the COVID-19 pandemic and the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines...
This interim report highlights records the Subcommittee has reviewed regarding HHS’s awareness of and response to cases of myocarditis—a type of heart inflammation—following COVID-19 vaccination...
In conjunction with this interim report, the chairman is releasing 2,473 pages of records he received pursuant to his subpoena. These records contain evidence of the Biden administration’s efforts to downplay and delay warning the public about the risks of myocarditis associated with the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
Specifically, in May 2021, following months of reports of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination, health officials at HHS discussed whether to issue a formal warning about the adverse event. The formal warning about myocarditis was initially going to be distributed nationwide as a Health Alert Network (“HAN”) message which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ('CDC') website, is 'CDC’s primary method of sharing cleared information about urgent public health incidents with public information officers; federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local public health practitioners; clinicians; and public health laboratories.' Health officials at CDC and the Food and Drug Administration ('FDA') ultimately decided against issuing a formal HAN and, instead, posted 'clinical considerations' on CDC’s website about myocarditis....
Based on the subpoenaed records the Subcommittee has received to date, as well as public FOIA documents, this interim report will highlight records and present a timeline showing:
- U.S. health officials knew about the risks of myocarditis;
- Those officials downplayed the health concern; and
- U.S. health agencies delayed informing the public about the risk of the adverse event.
In support of those findings, the records discussed in this interim report will show, in part:
- The Israeli Ministry of Health notifying officials at the CDC in late February 2021 of 'large reports of myocarditis, particularly in young people, following the administration of the Pfizer vaccine'...
- CDC officials discussing safety signals for 'myocarditis with mRNA vaccines' in mid April 2021 based on DoD and Israeli data, but still not taking immediate steps to warn the public.
- Discussions among CDC officials in May 2021 on whether to issue a HAN on myocarditis, noting that health care professionals across the nation may not be aware of the risk because 'providers aren’t reporting these cases to VAERS [Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System]'...
- The Biden White House distributing talking points to top U.S. health officials, including then-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ('NIAID') Director Anthony Fauci, downplaying the risk of myocarditis
A Department of Defense (“DoD”), Defense Health Agency (“DHA”) consultant’s presentation and other discussions by CDC officials about the limitations of vaccine...
Even though CDC and FDA officials were well aware of the risk of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration opted to withhold issuing a formal warning to the public for months about the safety concerns, jeopardizing the health of young Americans."