NIH Chair: New Clinic Lacks Funds

Jack Leslie, chair of the board overseeing the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Research Hospital, delivered a six-minute critique of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a recent meeting. Leslie argued that the secretary's new vaccine injury clinic threatens the institution's standing.

The hospital, known as a "house of hope" for patients with rare conditions, hosts the new clinic without any additional funding or dedicated space. Leslie stated that the clinic adds no new resources to the facility.

Kennedy recently made a surprise appearance at the clinic's ribbon-cutting ceremony. He joined a panel of individuals who identified as "vaccine injured" behind placards bearing that label. High-ranking Trump administration officials also attended the event.

Leslie said he expected some board members might prefer silence. However, he argued that staying quiet would be a failure of duty. "But I think that that would be a failing as an advisory board if we were silent," he said.

The board chair clarified that his objection was not to scientific study. He noted that serious reactions are rare but real. Leslie said people who believe they have been injured should be taken seriously.

Jonathan Green, the hospital's CEO, supported Leslie's account. Green noted that the NIH has researched vaccine safety and efficacy for decades. He described the new clinic as one more individual "protocol" within existing research efforts.

The remarks highlight a distinction between the high-profile launch and the clinic's operational reality. Leslie focused on the risk to the hospital's reputation for serving vulnerable patients. Green framed the addition as a modest expansion of ongoing work.