Headline RoundupFebruary 23rd, 2022

CDC Withheld Large Portions of COVID-19 Data

Summary from the AllSides News Team

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has withheld significant amounts of COVID-19 data on hospitalizations and vaccinations.

When the CDC recently published the first significant data on the effectiveness of boosters in adults younger than 65, it left out the numbers for the 18-49 age group. It has also collected data on vaccines and hospitalizations more generally since the start of the pandemic, but much of it remains private. According to a report from The New York Times, CDC officials were concerned that the data wasn't ready for publication and could be misinterpreted by the public as indicating that the vaccines are ineffective. CDC officials also told the Times that the pandemic exposed the agency's outdated and incapable data processing systems.

The Times report was covered by several sources on the left and right. CNBC was the only center-rated source to cover the story, but didn't publish an online story about it. Some right-rated outlets focused on criticism of the CDC's decision to withhold data, and framed it as evidence that the government was worried about how its data may contradict its vaccine policies if made public. Some left-rated sources highlighted how the lack of transparency could have inhibited local officials from managing the pandemic effectively.

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