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# Court Rules Against FDA in Vaccine FOIA Request
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/court-rules-against-fda-in-vaccine-foia-request/
- Published: 2022-01-07T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T17:27:54.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5150886

A Texas federal court has [ruled against FDA](https://www.sirillp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ORDER%5F2022%5F01%5F06-9e24e298ae561d16d68a3950ab57077b.pdf?ref=fdaweb.com) in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit by Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency (PHMPT) looking for data and information on the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. The group sued FDA in September after the agency denied its request to expedite the release of the records.

FDA previously told the court it would need 55 years to respond to the FOIA request because the task would require it to review and redact 329,000 pages of documents and it could only do 500 pages per month. The group is seeking safety and effectiveness data; a protocol for a test or study; adverse reaction reports, product experience reports, consumer complaints, and other similar data and information; a list of all active ingredients and any inactive ingredients; an assay method or other analytical method; all correspondence and written summaries of oral discussions relating to the vaccine; all records showing Pfizer and BioNTech’s testing of a particular lot; and all records showing the testing of and action on a particular lot by FDA.

In its ruling, the court acknowledged historical sentiment. It cited president **John F. Kennedy**’s recognition that “a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” It also agreed with late-senator **John McCain**’s (R-AZ) contention that “\[e\]xcessive administrative secrecy . . . feeds conspiracy theories and reduces the public’s confidence in the government.”

Concluding that the FOIA request is of “paramount public importance,” the court ordered FDA to produce the “more than 12,000 pages” outlined in its earlier proposal by 1/31\. Then, the agency is required to produce the remaining documents at a rate of 55,000 pages every 30 days until complete.