Henry Ford Health Denounces Claim That System Suppressed Research, Cautions Against Dangerous Viral Disinformation and Misinformation

DETROIT – Henry Ford Health, a nationally recognized academic medical center and research institution, has issued a cease-and-desist letter to the makers of an upcoming “documentary” that falsely and dangerously claims the health system suppressed a draft of a research paper because of its results. The health system also condemns the purposeful twisting of information and the spread of disinformation happening on the topic, which poses a direct threat to public health.

There are many factors that determine whether a research paper should be submitted for consideration by scientific journals or otherwise shared with the public. In this case, a 2020 draft of a paper that aimed to compare health outcomes for vaccinated and unvaccinated children was immediately shelved upon the first internal peer review because of serious issues with its data and methodology. Those flaws included:

• The unvaccinated patient sample was vastly different than the vaccinated sample, with more males, more white children, less prematurity and less respiratory distress at birth.
• The unvaccinated sample was very small in comparison to the vaccinated sample.
• The amount of time measuring occurrence of disease was much shorter for the unvaccinated children. One quarter were observed only through six months of age, and 75% were only observed up until age 3, which is before doctors can confidently diagnose chronic pediatric diseases. 
• The draft compared multiple vaccines vs. no vaccines, instead of a specific vaccine vs. no vaccines.No consideration was given to the number of vaccines or the duration of time between vaccines and the occurrence of disease.
• Vaccine guidance has changed over time, but that was not taken into consideration.

The draft was never considered for submission to journals because it did not remotely come close to meeting the rigorous scientific standards the system demands—the same standards journals have, too. Claims that Henry Ford Health kept or suppressed the results from the public due to political reasons are patently false, defamatory and troubling; it’s important the public receives the truth, as this may lead to families making health decisions based on unfounded and incorrect assumptions.

Henry Ford Health was unaware this rejected and unvalidated draft from the early COVID era had somehow been shared or was being discussed, and the health system was never given an opportunity to weigh in on the topic. In addition, because the draft was shared without the system’s knowledge, there’s reason to believe it’s been altered from its original form and made to appear finalized, which it was not. 

In addition, this flawed paper is now also being falsely connected to a long-term, NIH-funded research cohort at Henry Ford Health. The disinformation being presented on social media is dangerous, as it aims to sow doubt in the legitimacy of the ongoing research. The health system urges anyone who comes across content regarding this discredited draft to recognize it’s being weaponized.

Henry Ford Health believes in research that’s driven by irrefutable data and methodology and will never compromise those standards. 

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MEDIA INQUIRIES ONLY: mediarelations@hfhs.org