diff --git a/search/includes/classes/class-health.php b/search/includes/classes/class-health.php
index bf8eb5c150..d00c2ac26c 100644
--- a/search/includes/classes/class-health.php
+++ b/search/includes/classes/class-health.php
@@ -181,6 +181,11 @@ public function get_index_entity_count_from_elastic_search( array $query_args, \
 				// Since the user indexable is global, we want to include ALL in count.
 				unset( $query->query_vars['blog_id'] );
 			}
+
+			// An improperly formatted ES args filter can break the `wp vip-search health validate-counts` CLI.
+			remove_all_filters( 'ep_formatted_args' );
+			remove_all_filters( 'ep_post_formatted_args' );
+
 			$formatted_args = $indexable->format_args( $query->query_vars, $query );
 
 			// Get exact total count since Elasticsearch default stops at 10,000.