Administrative Court Error Complicates Infarmed Vaccine Data Transparency

Court Clerical Error Threatens Infarmed Vaccine Data Transparency

Infarmed vaccine data transparency hangs in the balance due to a clerical error by the Lisbon Administrative Court’s secretariat, which sent a January 16 dispatch from Judge Ana de Campos to PÁGINA UM’s former lawyer. This misstep interpreted the outlet’s silence on Infarmed’s compliance with a data release order as implicit confirmation, potentially allowing Infarmed to evade full disclosure of COVID-19 vaccine pharmacovigilance data. Despite PÁGINA UM’s prompt reply, the judge may deem the matter moot, extending litigation and highlighting delays in accessing adverse reaction reports from vaccines and Remdesivir.

Gaps in Released Vaccine Data

Partial pharmacovigilance data from Infarmed, released in August 2024 and covering only December 2020 to December 2021, reveals critical omissions like causality grading, dose numbers, batch details, age, municipality, and notifier profession. Of 27,220 adverse reactions, 7,110 were serious, including 104 deaths—such as an 80+ year-old woman dying two minutes after Pfizer vaccination and a man from pulmonary thromboembolism 15 minutes post-dose. Under-25s saw 513 serious reactions (225 without follow-up), plus nine deaths in the 25-49 group. Broader Portal RAM data to August 2024 showed 19,224 of 45,337 entries (42.4%) with “unknown” outcomes, including myocarditis/pericarditis, anaphylaxis, embolisms, Guillain-Barré, strokes, thromboses, and infarctions.

Multi-Year Legal Fight for Full Disclosure

PÁGINA UM’s December 6, 2021, request for Remdesivir and COVID-19 vaccine data was denied by Infarmed under Rui Santos Ivo, leading to the Commission on Access to Administrative Documents. On March 16, 2022, it ordered anonymized release, rejecting refusals. Infarmed’s non-compliance triggered summons, a March 2023 overturned ruling, and a July 11, 2024, Tribunal Central Administrativo do Sul order for full data. Infarmed’s truncated response prompted PÁGINA UM’s July 2024 fine request (€200 minimum daily on Ivo).