Opinion: CDC leadership continues to try to manufacture a scientific debate on vaccines where none exists

Summary: Public health experts are worried because new leaders at the CDC are questioning a trusted tool used to see if vaccines are working. This tool is called the "test-negative design." It compares sick people who test positive for a virus with sick people who test negative. It is a fast and cheap way to check vaccines for Covid-19, the flu, and RSV.

Recently, CDC leaders blocked a study and claimed this tool has a "fatal flaw." But scientists say this flaw isn't real because they already know how to use the tool correctly. Experts believe this is a fake debate created for political reasons, which could make it much harder to track how well our vaccines are protecting us in the real world.

Source: STAT News URL: statnews.com/2026/07/02/measuring-vaccine-effectiveness-test-negative-design-cdc/?utm_campaign=rss (opens in new tab)