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National Institutes of Health (NIH) emails recently obtained by ICAN via a FOIA lawsuit show that senior NIH officials—including Fauci, Collins, and Tabak—were aware as early as April 2021 of neurological injuries occurring after Covid-19 vaccination. An NIH scientist attempted to publish a report on the subject, but NIH leaders expressed concern that it might fuel “vaccine hesitancy and social-media overreaction.”
ICAN filed a lawsuit to obtain these emails in June 2025, after NIH failed to respond to a FOIA request sent in October of 2023. ICAN’s attorneys proved successful and the emails are finally being released.
So far, the emails concern research conducted by Avindra (Avi) Nath, a senior investigator at NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Nath prepared a manuscript describing 24 patients who developed neuropathy-like symptoms following Covid-19 vaccination. Nath sent his draft to Walter Koroshetz, then-Director of NINDS, explaining that its central message was that “early recognition and treatment with corticosteroids can reverse the symptoms.”
On April 21, 2021, Koroshetz informed Anthony Fauci about Nath’s work. Koroshetz, who was also aware of the adverse events, wrote: “There have been steady slow stream of reports to me of post vaccination neurologic conditions, seem to be mostly peripheral nerve disorders… maybe an occasional spinal cord issue. Avi has been collecting a bunch. He has a report sent out to publish.”
An April 28th email informed then-NIH Director Francis Collins and then-Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak that Nath’s manuscript had been rejected by the New England Journal of Medicine. Collins forwarded the message to Koroshetz with a pointed question: “Walter, what do you make of this? The draft letter doesn’t explain how these 32 patients were referred—leaving one to wonder whether this is common or rare.” Koroshetz replied and noted that a NINDS staff member developed severe, persistent tinnitus following vaccination.
Collins replied that he found “this approach very troubling” and expressed concern that “collecting anecdotes and then trying to build a case isn’t scientifically compelling—and will have the main consequence of feeding vaccine hesitancy and social media overreaction.” Tabak replied privately to Collins with his own even blunter reaction: “I thought it was me. I don’t understand why Walter does not shut this down.”
Collins forwarded the discussion to Fauci, writing: “I gather Walter has also shared this work of Avi Nath with you? Obviously we need to have the facts about adverse events, but this approach seems ill-conceived.”
While the emails do not prove that Collins, Tabak, or Fauci expressly ordered Nath to abandon the manuscript, they raise serious questions about whether NIH leadership viewed its potential effect on vaccine confidence as a compelling reason to suppress its publication. The manuscript was never published in a peer-reviewed journal and the preprint did not appear online until May 2022—a full year after it was originally written.
Notably absent from the emails is any real concern about these troubling adverse events so early on in a nationwide vaccine campaign! ICAN will provide further updates as additional records become available.
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