Does FDA Want Until 2076 To Release Vaccine Data?

In November 2021, a rumor started circulating on social media that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was attempting to “hide” data related to the COVID-19 vaccine and that they had requested to delay the release of pertinent information until 2076.

The FDA did not request a delay in the release of its COVID-19 data until 2076. The FDA responded to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for more than 300,000 pages of data related to the licensure of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine by proposing a processing schedule that would see the release of 500 pages every month. While the FDA argues that this is a rather standard processing schedule, if adhered to it would take the FDA more than 50 years, or until 2076, to completely fulfill.

This claim stems from an FOIA request filed by Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency for the data the FDA relied upon to license Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. While the government is required to respond to these requests, the amount of time it takes to fulfill these requests varies depending on the number of documents requested, the backlog at the responding agency, and the complexity of the involved documents.