When Data “Leaks”…What should our response be?

So, I noticed that the “leaked documents” containing data from Pfizer’s preclinical vaccine studies are circulating on Twitter as screenshots. First, full disclosure, I knew about this data last week, and I am concerned, but it’s really important to not run with an interpretation just yet. The purpose of this blog is to describe how I think we should handle this situation and ones like it. The response doesn’t have to be illogical or extreme, as it often is. We can do this in a logical way, guys, I promise.

The short summary is that the mouse-model data seems to show that the mRNA vaccine does not stay at the injection site, but gathers in certain organs. What was concerning was how much seemed to gather in the ovaries over a 48-hour period. Now, this was in mice, and responses in humans can be very different. But if one saw that happening in mice, the prudent thing to do would be to conduct reproductive toxicology studies.

I’m sure Pfizer knows about this leak by now, and the right thing for them to do is respond to justified questions about results from these preclinical studies. Is data missing?  Do we have the full story?  Did they conduct more studies? Why shouldn’t we worry?

What’s not prudent is banning doctors/scientists/journalists/researchers who voice their concerns, taking down articles or shadow-banning people asking about this, which sadly has been Big Tech’s brainless go-to response for these types of concerns.

What’s not prudent is using this to oil-up the misinformation machine.

In summary:

Data was revealed.

There are legitimate concerns.

Hold off on running with an interpretation.

We should talk about it.

Don’t use it to fuel misinformation.

Don’t censor articles discussing it.

Pfizer should respond.