NIH Clinical Center board backs chair’s statement on Kennedy clinic — Ars Technica

In the United States, the board overseeing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center unanimously supported remarks by its chair, Jack Leslie, regarding a clinic to study possible vaccine-related injuries. Leslie criticized the clinic’s presentation ceremony involving U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and warned that the initiative’s political positioning could undermine trust in the hospital, Ars Technica reports.

Criticism of the ceremony

Kennedy made an unexpected appearance at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the clinic’s opening. The event was attended by people who said they had been harmed by vaccines. They sat behind signs describing them as vaccine-injured and spoke with Kennedy and other senior officials in Donald Trump’s administration.

Leslie emphasized that he does not oppose research into possible vaccine-related injuries. According to him, serious reactions are rare but real, and people who believe they have been harmed deserve to be taken seriously, treated with respect, and given answers.

The protocol is still under review

NIH has conducted research into vaccine safety and effectiveness for decades and has a Vaccine Evaluation Center within the Clinical Center. Hospital CEO Jonathan Green said Kennedy’s initiative does not involve additional funding or separate premises, but is a separate protocol within the existing center.

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According to Green, the protocol must undergo thorough scientific and ethical review before implementation, and at the time of the meeting it was still under consideration.

Concerns about trust

Leslie said the signs at the ceremony effectively proclaimed a conclusion that the research had not yet reached. In his view, if the study finds harm, its results could be dismissed because of Kennedy’s long-standing claims about the dangers of vaccines. If no harm is found, patients may consider the clinic a sham.

After Leslie’s speech, one board member proposed supporting his statement. The motion was immediately seconded, and the board approved it unanimously in a vote.