Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has launched an agency-wide initiative to investigate and track post-vaccination health issues. The plan includes a newly opened NIH clinic in Bethesda, Maryland, electronic health record tracking, and a CMS proposal to reimburse doctors for submitting reports to VAERS. While supporters welcome the focused attention on patient care, public health experts warn the effort lacks scientific controls and risks sowing mistrust in immunizations.
HHS vaccine policy actions
- ▪Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 independent expert members of the CDC vaccine advisory committee in his first year heading HHS.
- ▪The Department of Health and Human Services announced an initiative to strengthen federal actions regarding health problems reported following vaccination.
NIH Opens Clinic and study on vaccine health problems
- ▪The National Institutes of Health opened a new clinic on October 5, 2026, at its Bethesda, Maryland campus dedicated to studying and caring for patients experiencing health problems following vaccination.
- ▪NIH ordered thousands of employees on its Bethesda campus to work from home on October 5, 2026, ahead of the clinic opening announcement.
- ▪An internal NIH memo indicates the new clinic will launch an observational study following vaccinated individuals for possible complications and potential causes.
CDC modernizes VAERS Reporting System
- ▪The CDC awarded a contract to SPN Solutions Inc. on September 28, 2026, to develop tools for VAERS.
- ▪The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is modernizing the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System to make reporting simpler and accessible on mobile devices.
- ▪CDC cautions on its website that VAERS reports are unverified and do not establish whether a vaccine caused a reported condition.
CMS proposal to reimburse vaccine injury reports
- ▪The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a policy to reimburse physicians for reporting suspected vaccine-related injuries to VAERS.
- ▪Protect Our Care President Brad Woodhouse criticized the CMS reimbursement proposal as a measure that could incentivize unproven claims of vaccine harm.
Electronic health record requirements
- ▪Johns Hopkins Institute for Vaccine Safety Director Daniel Salmon noted that clinicians lack clear-cut definitions to determine potential vaccine-related adverse events for electronic health records.
- ▪The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will require electronic health records to capture vaccine-related adverse events.
Health experts criticize HHS vaccine initiatives
- ▪Public health experts and researchers expressed concern that the HHS initiatives will sow mistrust in vaccines and lack scientific control groups.
- ▪AMA President Dr. Willie Underwood III stated that vaccine research must be conducted objectively, transparently, and free from political influence.
RFK Jr. leadership and vaccine policy changes
- ▪HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously founded an anti-vaccine group and has repeatedly linked vaccines to autism, diabetes, asthma, and autoimmune diseases.
- ▪Under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC issued a revamped childhood vaccine schedule in January removing universal recommendations for several immunizations.
- ▪HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated that the federal government must listen to patients and families reporting vaccine injuries rather than dismiss or gaslight them.
- ▪A federal court issued a preliminary injunction in March 2026 blocking key parts of the CDC childhood vaccine schedule changes.
Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
- ▪The federal Vaccine Injury Table lists 14 compensable injuries across 16 vaccine types under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
- ▪The federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has awarded roughly $5 billion across approximately 12,300 injury and death claims since 1988.
Debatable claims
- ▪CMS should reimburse physicians for reporting suspected vaccine injuries to VAERS
- ▪HHS's vaccine injury initiative will restore public trust in health institutions
- ▪NIH observational studies without control groups cannot establish vaccine causation
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