US Health Secretary Launches New Federal Effort Focused on Vaccine Injuries

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has launched a federal effort to study and document health problems reported after vaccination, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Actions and Changes

The initiative centers on a National Institutes of Health clinic that opened on Monday to treat and study patients reporting health problems after receiving vaccines. Other measures include a proposal by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to pay doctors for reporting suspected injuries to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a CDC effort to update that system, and an HHS requirement for electronic health records to capture vaccine-related adverse events. Kennedy also fired all 17 independent expert members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee in his first year heading HHS and selected new panelists, many sharing his views. In January, the CDC announced a revamped childhood vaccine schedule reducing recommended shots, though a federal court issued a preliminary injunction in March blocking key parts of these changes.

Background and Context

The Vaccine Injury Table lists 14 compensable injuries across 16 vaccine types under a system that has awarded roughly $5 billion across about 12,300 claims since 1988. Public health experts have raised growing concern about falling immunisation rates and note there is no evidence of harm from chemicals in vaccines, while Kennedy has long questioned vaccine safety and claimed children receive too many doses.