NIH hospital board chair warns RFK Jr.'s vaccine injury clinic could tarnish institution
At a recent meeting, the chair of the board overseeing the NIH Clinical Center Research Hospital rebuked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the launch of his signature vaccine injury clinic.
By News Media House Staff ·
The board that oversees the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center Research Hospital has been warned that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine injury clinic could damage the institution's standing. The warning came from the board's chair, Jack Leslie, at a recent regularly scheduled meeting.
Leslie began the session with friendly introductions and relaxed conversation, then set the agenda aside. For about six minutes, he delivered a pointed rebuke of Kennedy, cautioning that the secretary's anti-vaccine activities could tarnish a hospital often called the "house of hope." The nickname reflects its role as a destination for patients with rare conditions and for those who have exhausted every other option.
His criticism focused on a recent event at the hospital. Kennedy made a surprise appearance at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open his signature vaccine injury clinic. The event included a panel of people who say they were hurt by vaccines. They sat behind placards reading "vaccine injured" and spoke with Kennedy and other high-ranking Trump administration officials.
Leslie acknowledged that some people might prefer he not criticize Kennedy's efforts. Even so, he said, staying quiet would be wrong for the group. "But I think that that would be a failing as an advisory board if we were silent," he said.
He was careful to say his objection was not to scientific inquiry into vaccine harms. Leslie said he has no concerns about studying potential injuries from vaccines. "Serious reactions are rare, but real," he said, adding that people who believe they have been injured should "be taken seriously."
The clinic is also less of a departure than its high-profile launch might suggest. The NIH already has a center that studies vaccine injuries, and Kennedy's new clinic comes with no additional funding and no extra clinic space.
Jonathan Green, the hospital's CEO, sat next to Leslie at the meeting and spoke up to back that account. Green said the NIH has researched the safety and efficacy of vaccines for decades and that the work is continuing. Green described the new clinic as just one more individual "protocol" at the hospital.
Taken together, the remarks from the board chair and the hospital's chief executive point to a gap between the ceremony and the clinic's practical footing. Leslie framed the issue as one of reputation for a hospital that serves some of the most vulnerable patients, while Green's description presented the clinic as a modest addition to research the NIH already conducts.
Source: Ars Technica
