NIH Board Chair Says Kennedy's Vaccine Clinic Adds No New Budget
Leaders at the Clinical Center Research Hospital argued the new facility carries zero additional funding and minimal space, despite a high-profile launch.
By Vanessa Lopez ·
Jack Leslie, chair of the board overseeing the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center Research Hospital, stated that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new vaccine injury clinic brings no new money to the institution. Speaking at a regularly scheduled meeting, Leslie warned that the Health Secretary's anti-vaccine activities risk damaging the hospital's long-standing reputation as a destination for patients with rare and difficult-to-treat conditions.
Leslie's remarks followed a surprise appearance by Kennedy at the clinic's ribbon-cutting ceremony. During that event, Kennedy joined a panel of individuals describing themselves as vaccine-injured. These speakers sat behind placards reading 'vaccine injured' while conversing with Kennedy and other senior Trump administration officials. Leslie noted that while some might prefer the board remain quiet, silence would represent a failure of its advisory role.
The board chair emphasized that his objection targets the political framing of the clinic rather than the science of vaccine safety. He confirmed that serious vaccine reactions are rare but real and that patients reporting such injuries should be taken seriously. Leslie argued that the hospital serves some of the most vulnerable patients in the country, making its public image a matter of institutional duty.
Jonathan Green, the hospital's CEO, supported Leslie's financial assessment during the same meeting. Green described the new clinic as a standard research protocol rather than a major expansion. He noted that the NIH has studied vaccine safety and efficacy for decades and that this work continues without interruption. Green specified that the clinic operates with no additional funding and no extra clinic space beyond what the NIH already possesses.
The comments highlight a distinction between the ceremonial opening and the operational reality of the facility. The NIH already maintains a center dedicated to studying vaccine injuries. By characterizing the new clinic as a modest addition to existing research, hospital leadership positioned the project as a continuation of established scientific inquiry rather than a structural change to the hospital's resources or mission.
Source: Ars Technica
