RFK Jr. hires Army doctor who opposed Covid shots to investigate whether vaccines killed 2,500 troops

The Department of Health and Human Services has hired Lt. Col. Theresa Long, an Army doctor who opposed Covid-19 shots, to investigate whether the vaccines caused 2,544 deaths among U.S. service members. Appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Long is analyzing unverified reports from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. However, Pentagon reports from 2025 and 2026 found zero vaccine-related deaths, and experts warn the database is highly unreliable.

Lt. Col. Theresa Long appointment

• ▪Lt. Col. Theresa Long stated in an August 14, 2026 legal deposition that she serves as a senior medical military adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and reports to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
• ▪Lt. Col. Theresa Long, who is board certified in aerospace medicine and has a master's in public health, has no specialized training in vaccines or viruses.
• ▪The Department of Health and Human Services hired Army doctor Lt. Col. Theresa Long to investigate claims that more than 2,500 U.S. service members died after receiving Covid-19 vaccines.
• ▪Lt. Col. Theresa Long stated in a legal deposition that she hopes to complete her research on potential Covid-19 vaccine complications within a year.

RFK Jr. vaccine safety campaign

• ▪Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has argued that requiring military service members to receive the Covid-19 vaccine violated their rights.
• ▪Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is leading a campaign to explore theories regarding the hazards of vaccines.

VAERS data reliability concerns

• ▪Lt. Col. Theresa Long is investigating 55,000 reports of adverse effects and 2,544 deaths among service members in the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.
• ▪Experts state that the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is unreliable because reports of side effects can be submitted by anyone without vetting, making them subject to bias or manipulation.

Pentagon Covid vaccine findings

• ▪More than 96 percent of U.S. service members were vaccinated against Covid-19 before the military mandate was rescinded.
• ▪A March 2026 Pentagon report and a July 2025 report found no deaths among U.S. service members caused by Covid-19 vaccines.

Military vaccine mandate history

• ▪The U.S. Defense Department established a Covid-19 Reinstatement and Reconciliation Task Force in May 2026 to help discharged troops return to the military.
• ▪The U.S. Defense Department discharged nearly 9,000 service members for refusing Covid-19 vaccines before Congress ordered the end of the mandate in a 2022 law.

Debatable claims

• ▪The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is a reliable basis for scientific investigations
• ▪The US military's Covid-19 vaccine mandate violated service members' rights
• ▪The federal government should investigate claims of Covid-19 vaccine deaths in the military