RFK Jr. launches vaccine injury research and reporting health system

The Department of Health and Human Services is rolling out several changes designed to improve how the federal government identifies and investigates health problems reported after people receive vaccines.

The effort includes a new National Institutes of Health clinic for people who believe they have experienced health problems following vaccination. The clinic opened Oct. 5 and will allow patients to be evaluated by clinicians while giving researchers additional opportunities to study reported vaccine-related conditions.

“We must listen to patients and families who report vaccine injuries — not dismiss or gaslight them,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said.

The administration is also changing how vaccine-related adverse events are reported. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will reimburse participating physicians for time spent submitting suspected vaccine injury reports to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS.

VAERS collects reports from doctors, patients, caregivers, vaccine manufacturers, and others. The system is used to identify potential safety signals that may warrant further investigation, although a report to VAERS does not by itself establish that a vaccine caused a particular injury or condition.

The changes come as Kennedy, who has long questioned aspects of federal vaccine policy and vaccines, faces scrutiny over his role in reshaping the nation’s approach to vaccine safety. Kennedy has argued that federal health agencies have not adequately investigated reports of vaccine-related injuries, while critics have accused him of promoting claims that could undermine confidence in vaccines. The new initiative reflects Kennedy’s stated emphasis on investigating reported injuries while relying on federal health agencies and researchers to evaluate the evidence.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also been moving to modernize VAERS. The agency solicited bids for a new contract in August and announced a contract on Sept. 28 that will make the system more accessible on mobile devices and improve tools for researchers and medical professionals examining potential safety signals.

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Separately, federal health information technology standards overseen by the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will require electronic health records to capture vaccine-related adverse events. The goal is to allow information about those reports to follow patients across different health care settings.

“President Trump and I are building a health system that takes them seriously, follows the evidence, and uses what we learn to make vaccines safer,” Kennedy said. “This is how we earn back trust in our public health institutions.”

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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]