In June 2018, the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A published my article “A lowered probability of pregnancy in females in the USA aged 25-29 who received a human papillomavirus vaccine injection”. Data revealed that 60% of women who had not received the HPV vaccine had been pregnant at least once, while only 35% of HPV vaccine recipients had ever conceived. The article detailed the statistical analysis as well as offered possible biological mechanisms for the results. Three researchers peer-reviewed the article. When the article first appeared, the editors eagerly promoted it by making it free. By early December 2019, the number of downloads reached close to 24,000.
On October 23, 2019, I received an email stating that academic publisher Taylor & Francis and Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sam Kacew had opened an investigation of the paper, based on “several public and private expressions of concern about flaws in analysis.” They gave me two weeks to respond to comments from four post-publication reviewers, and I did so. On December 10, 2019, I received an email from Taylor and Francis stating that despite my comments, the “concerns raised by the reviewers still stand,” and they were retracting the article. Since the retraction, the number of downloads has increased to 24, 227.
It is perhaps ironic that Taylor & Francis has just asked me to review an article for another journal. Evidently, Taylor & Francis first promoted me as an important and reliable researcher. Then they withdrew my article without detailed explanation. And now, just a few days later, once again treat me as an important and reliable researcher.