Exclusive | CDC doctor monitoring bad COVID vaccine reactions may have deleted files, alleges Sen. Ron Johnson

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doctor in charge of monitoring reports of adverse COVID-19 vaccine reactions has been accused by a Republican senator of mishandling and possibly deleting key records.Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) struggled to find records belonging to Dr.Tom Shimabukuro, the director of the CDC’s Immunization Safety Office, while trying to comply with a subpoena from Sen.

Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) for vaccine safety data.“HHS officials recently informed me that Dr.Shimabukuro’s records remain lost and, potentially, removed from HHS’s email system altogether,” Johnson wrote in a Wednesday letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and acting HHS watchdog Juliet Hodgkins.“Dr.

Shimabukuro’s potential mishandling of his official records is highly concerning.”It is not clear what specific records are missing, but Johnson’s team was told HHS was struggling to locate information for which Shimabukuro had responsibility and that should exist, an aide explained to The Post.Last November, Johnson had asked HHS, the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration to “preserve all records referring or relating to the development, safety, and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.”In January, after becoming chair of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Johnson blasted out a subpoena for records on internal COVID-19 vaccine safety communications, which led to HHS discovering the potential discrepancies with Shimabukuro’s emails.“Any attempt to obstruct or interfere with my investigatory efforts would be grounds for contempt of Congress,” Johnson wrote Wednesday.Contempt of Congress is punishable by up to a six-figure fine and 12 months in prison.Under the Federal Records Act, government officials are required to preserve materials “made or received by a Federal agency under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business.”Johnson is callin...