NIH Hospital Board Unanimously Rebukes RFK Jr. Over Vaccine Injury Clinic

The board overseeing the NIH Clinical Center voted unanimously on October 16, 2026, to support a statement by chairman Jack Leslie accusing HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of undermining trust in science and politicizing the hospital. Leslie's statement responded to Kennedy's October 5 ribbon-cutting for a new clinic to study vaccine injuries, where he led a roundtable with people who said vaccines had harmed them beneath signs reading "Vaccine Injured." Leslie said he was "troubled" that the signage suggested a foregone conclusion given Kennedy's public skepticism of vaccines.

Leslie warned the findings will be discredited either way: harm could be dismissed as the product of a secretary who calls vaccines dangerous, while no-harm findings could be called a sham. He said the hospital's credibility depends on confidence its research seeks truth rather than confirms a predetermined conclusion.

Clinical Center CEO Dr. Jonathan Green said the clinic needs no new resources and will undergo standard review. Kennedy's office did not respond to a request for comment.