US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr has announced a series of initiatives to study the rare adverse effects of vaccines, including a specialist research centre, reports EWN.
“We must listen to patients and families who report vaccine injuries, not dismiss or gaslight them,” Kennedy, well known as a vaccine sceptic, said last week.
Kennedy has faced criticism from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other medical experts for efforts to overhaul child vaccinations in the United States.
According to the WHO, vaccination currently prevents up to 5m deaths every year from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, influenza and measles.
“The issue really isn’t whether we should study vaccine safety,” said epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
“Of course we should, but we already have systems in place that are constantly monitoring…to determine: are there any adverse events associated with vaccination?”
Kennedy said the latest effort would help build a health system that “follows the evidence, and uses what we learn to make vaccines safer”.
“This is how we earn back trust in our public health institutions.”
The federal health department has undergone significant budget cuts recently, and the country faces its worst measles outbreak in 35 years. The highly contagious illness has made a strong comeback among unvaccinated populations, where growing mistrust of health officials has been reported.
EWN article – Trump administration to launch new vaccine research centre (Open access)
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