# NIH Clinical Center Board Warns Against Kennedy's Vaccine Injury Clinic

> The governing board of the NIH Clinical Center issued a unanimous warning about Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new 'Vaccine Injury Center', citing risks to public trust and research integrity.

By PrimaryBrief newsroom · Published 2026-10-23T17:45:01.665397Z
Canonical: https://primarybrief.com/article/nih-clinical-center-board-warns-against-kennedy-s-vaccine-injury-clinic-1a8a52e8

On October 16, 2026, the governing board of the NIH Clinical Center issued a unanimous warning regarding the newly launched 'Vaccine Injury Center' by Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [1][3]. The board expressed concerns that the clinic risks undermining public trust in science, politicizing medical research, and damaging the hospital's reputation [1][3]. This warning highlights a tension between political appointments and established scientific institutions, potentially eroding public confidence in medical research and the integrity of federal health organizations [1][3].

## What the records show

The NIH Clinical Center board's unanimous statement on October 16, 2026, criticized the clinic's launch [1][3]. Jack Leslie, Chairman of the board, stated he was "troubled" by Secretary Kennedy's "unannounced ribbon-cutting" on October 5 [1]. Leslie explained that if research found harm, many would dismiss it as biased due to Kennedy's known anti-vaccine stance [1]. If it found no harm, patients would see it as a "sham" [1]. He concluded, "Either way, they are left with answers no one trusts, and science only helps patients when the public believes it" [1]. The board's primary concern centered on the clinic's potential to compromise the center's standing, which relies on public confidence that its research is designed "to find the truth, not to confirm a conclusion reached in advance" [3]. Dr. Jonathan Green, CEO of the NIH Clinical Center, tried to reassure the public that the research would undergo "rigorous scientific and ethical review" [1].

## Timeline

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as the 26th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on February 13, 2025, following a 52-48 Senate vote [7][8][12]. Dr. Jonathan M. Green became the chief executive officer for the NIH Clinical Center in May 2026 [5]. On October 5, 2026, the 'Vaccine Injury Center' opened at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, during a visit by Secretary Kennedy [1][2][4]. Kennedy participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a roundtable discussion with patients who reported vaccine injuries [3]. HHS stated the clinic's aim is to "strengthen how the federal government identifies, documents, investigates, and responds to health problems reported after vaccination" [2]. On October 16, 2026, the governing board of the NIH Clinical Center held its quarterly meeting and unanimously supported a statement by Chairman Jack Leslie [1][3][10][13]. The statement admonished Secretary Kennedy for launching the clinic and raised concerns about public trust and scientific integrity [1][3].

## What changed and for whom

The establishment of the 'Vaccine Injury Center' represents a new federal initiative under Secretary Kennedy to investigate health problems reported after vaccination [2]. For the NIH Clinical Center, this initiative, combined with the manner of its launch, introduced a public perception challenge, as articulated by the board [1][3]. The board's warning indicates a perceived shift in the center's research environment, where findings from the new clinic might be met with distrust from either side of the vaccine debate, regardless of their scientific merit [1]. For patients and the public, the dispute signals a potential politicization of medical research, affecting their confidence in scientific institutions [1][3].

## What the subject has said publicly

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. championed the initiative, stating that the government "must listen to patients and families who report vaccine injuries, not dismiss or gaslight them" [4]. His Department of Health and Human Services announced the clinic's purpose as an effort to "strengthen how the federal government identifies, documents, investigates, and responds to health problems reported after vaccination" [2]. Kennedy has been identified as an anti-vaccine activist [6].

## What we could not confirm

We could not confirm the specific research protocols or studies planned for the 'Vaccine Injury Center'. We also could not confirm the exact resources allocated to the new clinic, beyond Dr. Green's statement that it would not require new resources [1].

## Evidence cited
1. (October 19 2026) The board chair of the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., has admonished HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for opening a vaccine injury clinic at the hospital, The New York Times reported Oct. 16. In a six-minute opening statement at the board's most recent quarterly meeting, Chair Jack Leslie said he was “troubled” by Mr. Kennedy's unannounced ribbon-cutting for the vaccine injury clinic at the NIH Clinical Center on Oct. 5. “If this research finds evidence of harm, many  — https://beckershospitalreview.com/
2. (October 08 2026) The clinic, housed at NIH, opened on Oct 5 during a visit by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. NIH clinicians and researchers will evaluate patients, investigate potential causes of health problems reported after vaccination, and identify better approaches to caring for them, according to HHS. The agency said the actions aim to "strengthen how the federal government identifies, documents, investigates, and responds to health problems r — https://medpath.com/
3. (October 19 2026) Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s launch of a Vaccine Injury Center was met with criticism from the hospital's board. “The clinical center's standing rests on one thing: the confidence of patients, physicians, and the public that the research done here is designed to find the truth, not to confirm a conclusion reached in advance," its chairman said.
... Monday, Oct 19 2026 8:53 AM. Full Issue · NIH Clinical Center Board Denounces RFK Jr.'s Perceived Undermining Of Trust  — https://kffhealthnews.org/
4. (October 13 2026) “President [Donald] 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's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also announced that electronic health records would be required to capture vaccine related adverse events, although it did not specify this would take effect. The new NIH clinic opened on 5 October at NIH's campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and aims to combine specialist  — https://bmj.com/
5. (May 18 2026) The clinical trials at the Clinical Center are predominantly Phase I and Phase II—first-in-human to test safety and efficacy. Clinical and laboratory research is conducted shoulder-to-shoulder, and this tandem approach drives all aspects of the Clinical Center's operations. More than 500,000 research volunteers have participated in clinical research studies at the Clinical Center since the hospital opened in 1953. Each year, the center sees about 10,000 new research participants, w — https://nih.gov/
6. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - Wikipedia (Wikipedia) — https://wikipedia.org/
7. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Sworn in as 26th Secretary at HHS, President Trump Signs Executive Order to Make America Healthy Again | HHS.gov (HHS.gov) — https://hhs.gov/
8. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - Ballotpedia (Ballotpedia) — https://ballotpedia.org/
9. Jack Leslie Named Chair of NIH Clinical Center Research Hospital Board | School of Health | Georgetown University (Georgetown University) — https://georgetown.edu/
10. (October 07 2026) Pursuant to section 1009 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the NIH Clinical Center. The meeting will be closed to the public as indicated below in accordance with the provisions set forth in sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., as amended for the review, discussion, and evaluation of individual grant applications conducted by the Clinical Center, including consideration  — https://federalregister.gov/
11. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | Biography, Presidential Campaign, & Family | Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica) — https://britannica.com/
12. (February 13 2025) The Senate Feb. 13 by a vote of 52-48 confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
... (AHA) — https://aha.org/
13. (October 16 2026) The board that oversees the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center voted unanimously to support a statement accusing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of undermining trust in the hospital's work, according to The New York Times.
... — https://freemalta.com/