Letter from Ron Johnson to HHS, FDA and CDC directing them to preserve all records relating to COVID-19 vaccines

"Dear Secretary Becerra, Commissioner Califf, and Director Cohen: 

The lack of transparency from your agencies during the Biden presidency has been appalling. Your agencies’ refusal to provide complete and unredacted responses and documents to my numerous oversight letters on the development and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines has hindered Congressional oversight and has jeopardized the public’s health.

In addition to hiding relevant information from Congress, your agencies have applied heavy redactions to public documents released under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. These redactions have made many of these public documents hard to understand and, in countless instances, impossible to read. What is clear from these excessive redactions, however, is a concerted effort to obscure Congress’ and the public’s understanding of your agencies’ detection of and response to COVID-19 vaccine adverse events such as myocarditis and pericarditis. The following three examples from May 2021 highlight only a small fraction of communications and documents on myocarditis and pericarditis your agencies continue to conceal.

I. Heavily Redacted Pfizer Report on Myocarditis and Pericarditis ...

II. CDC’s Draft Alert on Myocarditis Risk ...

III. The White House's Talking Points to Rochelle Walensky, Anthony Fauci, and Francis Collins

In late May 2021, as CDC officials reviewed Pfizer data on post-vaccinated cases of myocarditis and pericarditis and as CDC and FDA officials hesitated to issue a public alert about these risks, the Biden White House sent the U.S.'s top public health officials 17 pages of apparent talking points for 'tough QA' on COVID ... The 'new topics' listed in the email as well as the 17-page attachment are completely redacted.

The redactions in this email and the attachment make it impossible to know what 'tough QA' the Biden White House wanted Walensky, Fauci, and Collins to have on hand. Ultimately, despite your agencies’ awareness of the risks associated with the COVID-19 vaccines, the main talking point from these and other public health officials was uniform and entirely deceptive: the vaccines are safe and effective.

For the last several years, I have sent over 60 public letters to federal agencies on COVID-19 regarding the virus’ origins, early treatment, and the development and safety of the vaccines. While your agencies have largely ignored or failed to fully cooperate with my oversight efforts, I can assure you that your obstruction will soon come to an end. In the next Congress, when I become chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, any attempt by your agencies to withhold documents will be met with a subpoena... 

I also call on your agencies to immediately preserve all records referring or relating to the development, safety, and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines. Please provide the requested information no later than December 3, 2024."