The reliability and integrity of the CDC took another hit on Tuesday as a study they promoted was shown to be false and, under pressure, corrected.
The study inflated the number of COVID-19 deaths in children.
The Epoch Times noted the report “falsely stated that at least 1,433 deaths primarily attributed to COVID-19 had occurred among those 19 and younger in the United States, but the actual number is 1,088, the authors acknowledged in the updated version (pdf).”
Seth Flaxman, a British scientist, authored the original report. He, like agencies across the United States, did not differentiate between deaths in individuals who died “from” COVID and individuals who died having tested positive “with” COVID, though the CDC and Flaxman initially reported the study considered only patient deaths where COVID was the primary cause.
Offering little explanation, the agency’s update simply noted that researchers “incorrectly used these data.”
The Epoch Times noted in their report that Flaxman did not respond to a request for comment and that contributing authors to the report have not publicly commented on the correction.
Though promoted by three CDC officials, including Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the study was not — and still has not been — peer-reviewed.
Incredibly, this has not stopped or slowed the agency from promoting COVID vaccination for children under five.
In a notably false statement, Walensky said: “During March 2020 through April 2022, COVID-19 was among the top five leading causes of death in every age group of children under the age of 19 and the number one infectious cause of death in children.”
Soon after the report was published and promoted, observers noted multiple issues, the most important being ambiguity in citing the contributory factor in recorded deaths.
Despite noted concerns, CDC officials Dr. Matthew Daley, Dr. Katherine Fleming-Dutra and Dr. Sara Oliver cited the paper in discussions with the FDA and a vaccine advisory panel.
Further, presentation slides noting the false information used to support the need to vaccinate young children was widely circulated on social media by “outside officials like Dr. Nirav Shah, the director of the Maine CDC,” according to The Epoch Times.
Kelley Krohnert initially alerted Flaxman to issues in the report. Krohnert, a concerned mother and citizen researcher, reported to The Epoch Times that “the refusal to address the corrected data is part of a pattern from the CDC during the pandemic.”
The Times’ report notes that the CDC, Walensky, Fleming-Dutra, Oliver and Daley have not responded to queries and have not alerted the public to the corrected paper.
“It would be nice if somewhere they would acknowledge and accept responsibility for alarming parents with a statistic that turns out is completely bogus,” Krohnert said.
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