Washington DC - The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently delayed the release of a report that detailed the positive benefits of COVID-19 vaccines.

According to The Washington Post, scientists who spoke with the outlet on the condition of anonymity claimed a recent CDC report found that the vaccines cut the likelihood of emergency department visits by 50%, and hospitalizations for healthy adults by 55% last winter.

But after reviewing the report last month – which was scheduled for publication in the CDC journal The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on March 19 – acting CDC director Jay Bhattacharya raised concerns over the methodology.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) argued it was "routine" for leadership to flag concerns related to methodology, adding that Bhattacharya specifically expressed an issue with the "observational method" used in the study.

The move has received criticism from current and former officials who believe Bhattacharya is trying to downplay the effectiveness of vaccines, a view that falls in line with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was a prominent anti-vaccine activist prior to his current role.

Since he was appointed by President Donald Trump, the secretary has worked aggressively to implement his views into public policy by changing federal vaccine recommendations and publicly pushing what many have deemed medical misinformation.

Earlier this week, Kennedy announced he would soon launch a podcast that will focus on how the "government lies" to Americans about public health.