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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has withheld vast swaths of the information it holds about the impact of COVID-19, leading to anger from the scientific community and speculation the agency is not releasing the data because it weakens the case for booster shots in certain demographics.
Two weeks ago, the CDC published the first significant data on the effectiveness of boosters in adults younger than 65.
But the agency, led by Dr Rochelle Walensky, did not share the information on those aged 18-49, who are considered to be the least likely to benefit from a booster.
It has also failed to provide information they held on child hospitalizations, scientists complained.
Kristen Nordlund, a spokeswoman for the CDC, said the agency has been slow to release the different streams of data 'because basically, at the end of the day, it's not yet ready for prime time.'
She said the agency's 'priority when gathering any data is to ensure that it's accurate and actionable,' and told The New York Times that they were concerned it might be misinterpreted to show the vaccines were ineffective.
She also said that they were reluctant to publish the data because it represents only 10 percent of the population of the United States - accounting for 33 million people - the same sample size the CDC has used to track influenza for years.