Kennedy Opens NIH Clinic to Study Suspected Vaccine Injuries, but Budget, Enrollment Rules and Oversight Remain Undisclosed

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The plan also includes a proposal to pay doctors for reporting suspected injuries, modernization of the federal system that tracks adverse events after vaccination, and new electronic health record requirements, Bloomberg News reported.

What has not been released publicly matters just as much. Reports on the launch did not include the clinic’s budget, how patients will be selected, what research protocol it will follow or who will review its findings. Spokespeople for HHS and NIH did not respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comment.

For families, the stakes are practical. Parents weighing routine shots, doctors who report side effects and people who believe they were harmed all rely on vaccine safety research that is transparent and can be checked by others.

Kennedy has framed vaccine injury research as a response to families who say their concerns were ignored. Speaking at a Children’s Health Defense event last month, he said, “For many years, you’ve asked questions from outside the government, as I did,” adding that his role leading the department lets him put federal resources behind answering those questions. Kennedy previously led Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group.

The NIH event included NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, CDC Director Erica Schwartz, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, Bloomberg reported. It also featured a roundtable with parents who believe their children were harmed by vaccines.

The trade publication Pink Sheet described the site as a clinic for observational vaccine injury research. It reported that NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is considering taking part in trials examining vaccination schedules. HHS listed “vaccine injury” among its research focus areas in the MAHA strategy released in September 2025.

Observational research follows patients rather than assigning treatments. It can describe symptoms and patterns, but on its own it generally cannot show that a vaccine caused a condition. The value of the clinic will depend on details that have not been published, including whether it uses comparison groups, how it confirms diagnoses, and whether its results go through independent peer review.

Other open questions include the clinic’s annual budget and funding source, how many patients it expects to enroll, the medical criteria for joining, whether an institutional review board has approved a study protocol, and whether data will be shared publicly. It is also unclear how the proposed payments to doctors for reporting suspected injuries would work and what they would cost.

The launch comes as the country faces its largest measles outbreak in years, with five deaths recorded in Pennsylvania, according to Bloomberg. That backdrop raises the importance of clear communication about what the clinic will and will not study.

The clinic joins several long-running systems, each with a different job. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, co-managed by the CDC and FDA, accepts reports from patients, family members, health care providers, and manufacturers. The CDC cautions that “a report to VAERS does not mean that a vaccine caused an adverse event.”

The Vaccine Safety Datalink, established in 1990, is a collaboration between the CDC and 13 sites that analyzes electronic health record data weekly to look for rare and serious problems after vaccination. The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is “a no-fault alternative to the traditional legal system for resolving vaccine injury petitions,” with claims filed at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

MedicalDaily previously reported that four federal systems already track vaccine safety after Kennedy told a Children’s Health Defense conference that vaccine risks are unknowable. How the new clinic will share data with these systems has not been explained.

The clinic’s opening does not, by itself, change any vaccine schedule or insurance coverage. The CDC describes most vaccine side effects as minor and short-lived.

Anyone who suspects a reaction after a shot can talk with a clinician and file a VAERS report, which any patient or family member may submit. People who believe they were seriously injured can learn about the compensation program through HRSA. Trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, or a rapidly worsening condition after any vaccine needs emergency care.

The next details to watch are whether HHS publishes the clinic’s protocol, budget, and enrollment rules, and when the proposal to pay doctors for reporting appears in formal rulemaking.

What did Kennedy announce? He unveiled an NIH clinic to study and care for people with suspected vaccine injuries, alongside plans to change how injuries are reported.

How much will the clinic cost? No budget has been made public.

Who can enroll? Enrollment criteria have not been released.

Does this change vaccine recommendations? No. The clinic’s opening does not by itself change any vaccine schedule.

How can I report a suspected reaction? Anyone can file a report with VAERS. Talk with a clinician about symptoms.