Watchdog organizations are criticizing a top U.S. health agency's refusal to reveal the names of its vaccine safety team members.
Adverse reaction reports are submitted to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. This database is managed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.
Roger Andoh, a CDC FOIA officer, cited an exemption that protects “personnel and medical files and similar files” if the disclosure of the files “would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
A federal law called the Freedom of Information Act requires agencies to comply with information requests, but establishes exemptions that agencies can cite in withholding requested information.
19 July 2022
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