Are vaccine studies manipulated or biased?

All studies used to support vaccine approval and recommendations are scrutinised at many different stages by a range of independent scientists and medical experts who were not involved in the original research. 

While some risk of bias exists in any type of research, including vaccine studies, there are strict rules and independent checks in place to reduce this risk.

In Australia and many other countries, clinical trial studies must be registered in public trial databases before they start and all outcomes are reported. This stops results that only support a certain conclusion from being published without including less conclusive results. Most major medical journals require this registration before they publish the results of a study.

Many vaccine studies also include a detailed explanation of how the data was collected and analysed. In some cases, researchers share their data so others can check the results and confirm the findings. This helps reduce bias and promotes honesty and trust in the research.

When deciding whether to approve a vaccine for use, regulators like the TGA review all published studies on the vaccine from around the world.

The TGA requires that clinical trials must meet international standards including Good Clinical Practice and ethical guidelines.

When multiple independent studies show similar results, it builds confidence that the vaccine is safe and works well – and helps ensure the findings are not manipulated or biased.