Update to the saga of The Lancet's flawed study on covid vaccine efficacy

Apparently it's OK to lie in FOI responses now

In May 2021 a paper in The Lancet claimed that an observational study based on almost the entire population of Israel confirmed the 95% efficacy of the covid Pfizer vaccine. It was by far the biggest study up to that point at a critical time in the vaccine rollout. As such it received enormous positive media coverage and was used by many to crush what was then growing concerns about the vaccine safety and efficacy.

But the study and paper were flawed in many ways. The two-year saga of our own battle to get the Lancet to at least publish the concerns about the paper have been extensively documented on this substack. The most recent article was this one and we assumed there would be no further developments.

But it seems that the determination to cover up the flaws in this most influential paper know no bounds. While our own Freedom of Information (FOI) and subject access requests were targeted at The Lancet and its publishers, it turns out that an FOI request about the study was also submitted by pina_online to the Israeli Ministry of Health (whose data were the basis for the study). The details of the FOI and responses (which can also be found here) are reproduced below.

Note, in particular that the response includes an obviously provable lie, namely that there was no correspondence between Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis (the paper’s lead author and a senior Ministry official) and The Lancet editors mentioning Professors Norman Fenton and/or Martin Neil.

Developments and Why the Information Remains Withheld

On December 11, 2023, Adv. Sivan Dadon, Acting Director of Public Information at the Ministry, rejected the request:

Part 1: Claimed no correspondence existed with The Lancet editors, citing Section 8(3) of the FOI Law (non-existent information).

Part 2: Deemed correspondence with Pfizer researchers internal (drafts and consultations), confidential, and likely to create a “chilling effect” on collaboration, citing Sections 9(b)(1), 9(b) (4), and 9(b)(7) of the FOI Law.

So they cite “non-existent information” despite the fact that here is evidence of the correspondence having taken place!

From: em.thelancet.0.808fa4.c60af167@editorialmanager.com <em.thelancet.0.808fa4.c60af167@editorialmanager.com> On Behalf Of The Lancet Team
Sent: 08 January 2023 13:30
To: Norman Fenton <n.fenton@qmul.ac.uk>
Subject: Your Submission THELANCET-D-21-03671

Manuscript number: THELANCET-D-21-03671
Title: Study on effectiveness of Pfizer vaccine overestimates its effectiveness

Dear Professor Fenton,

Happy new year. I hope you’ve had a good start to 2023 so far.

Here at The Lancet editorial office, we have begun the new year by sorting through dated submissions in our online manuscript management system, Editorial Manager. I am sorry to see that this submission of yours from 2021 is still open.

We had invited Dr Sharon Alroy-Preis and co-authors of the published article to consider your letter, but I am sorry that we never received a formal reply from them and therefore have not been able to pursue an exchange. But I am even more sorry that I didn’t communicate a decision with you in a timely manner.

I will now close your submission, but I thank you for supporting post-publication debate in The Lancet.

Yours sincerely

Josefine Gibson
Senior Editor
The Lancet

Here is pina_online’s FOI request, the response along with some commentary:

Freedom of Information Request: Correspondence Related to Pfizer Vaccine Study in The Lancet

Importance of the Request

On July 9, 2023, I submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Israeli Ministry of Health (Request No. 669886, Reference 278874223) to obtain email correspondence related to a study on the efficacy and safety of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2), published in The Lancet (available here). The request included two parts:

1. Correspondence between Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, a senior Ministry official, and The Lancet editors, particularly Josephine Gibson and Richard Horton, mentioning Professors Norman Fenton and/or Martin Neil.

2. Correspondence between Pfizer researchers involved in the study and Dr. Alroy-Preis.

This request is of utmost importance because the The Lancet study, co-authored by Dr. Alroy-Preis, significantly influenced COVID-19 policies in Israel and globally, promoting widespread vaccination. However, researchers like Norman Fenton and Martin Neil have raised serious concerns about the study’s reliability, arguing its findings conflict with real-world data and suggesting potential biases or methodological flaws. Releasing the requested correspondence would shed light on the study’s publication process, the Ministry’s role, and how scientific critiques were handled. Transparency is critical for rebuilding public trust, especially given the 2024 Israeli State Comptroller’s report, which exposed deficiencies in managing vaccine adverse event reports.

Developments and Why the Information Remains Withheld

On December 11, 2023, Adv. Sivan Dadon, Acting Director of Public Information at the Ministry, rejected the request:

Part 1: Claimed no correspondence existed with The Lancet editors, citing Section 8(3) of the FOI Law (non-existent information).

Part 2: Deemed correspondence with Pfizer researchers internal (drafts and consultations), confidential, and likely to create a “chilling effect” on collaboration, citing Sections 9(b)(1), 9(b) (4), and 9(b)(7) of the FOI Law.

In response, on December 12, 2023, I emailed Adv. Dadon:

Part 1: I noted that Josephine Gibson, The Lancet’s deputy editor, closed a letter of concern from professors about the study, attaching her email as proof, and requested a thorough review. Part 2: I argued the study shaped global policy, was suspected of fraud by researchers, and contradicted real-world data. I questioned why the Ministry protects Pfizer, a commercial entity, over public health, and urged reconsideration.

As of April 19, 2025, I have received no response to this email, and the Ministry has ignored my arguments and evidence. This raises serious questions: Why did the Ministry claim no correspondence with The Lancet editors despite evidence to the contrary? Why refuse to disclose Pfizer correspondence, potentially concealing critical information about a study impacting public health? This conduct continues to erode public trust, especially in a pandemic where transparency was essential.

Continuing the Fight

The struggle for transparency persists. I am considering filing a complaint with the Governmental FOI Unit for the Ministry’s failure to respond to my follow-up email and exploring an administrative petition to the Jerusalem Administrative Court under Section 17 of the FOI Law to compel disclosure. Releasing this information would enable evidence-based public and scientific debate on the The Lancet study’s reliability, clarify the Ministry’s involvement, and help build a more transparent and accountable health system.