At a recent session of the advisory board that governs the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center Research Hospital, chair Jack Leslie began with upbeat introductions and friendly conversation before steering the meeting away from its usual agenda. He spent the next six minutes delivering a sharp criticism of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., cautioning that the secretary’s anti‑vaccine initiatives could damage the hospital’s standing as the “house of hope” for patients with rare diseases or those who have run out of treatment options.
Leslie objected to a recent event Kennedy staged at the hospital, in which the secretary made an unannounced appearance at a ribbon‑cutting ceremony for his newly opened vaccine injury clinic. The ceremony featured a panel of individuals who claimed to have suffered vaccine‑related injuries; they sat behind signs that read “vaccine injured” and spoke alongside Kennedy and several senior officials from the Trump administration.
The board chair acknowledged that some might prefer he remain silent about Kennedy’s actions, but he argued that silence would be a failure of the advisory board’s responsibility. Leslie also emphasized that he has no problem examining possible vaccine injuries. He noted that serious reactions are uncommon but do occur, and that anyone who believes they have been harmed should be taken seriously.