NIH Chair Says New Vaccine Clinic Adds No Cost or Space

The new vaccine injury clinic opened by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Research Hospital costs zero dollars in new funding and requires no additional physical space, according to hospital leadership.

Jack Leslie, chair of the board that oversees the hospital, raised the issue at a recently scheduled board meeting. He noted that the NIH already maintains a center dedicated to studying vaccine injuries. Kennedy’s new clinic operates within the existing infrastructure without expanding the hospital’s footprint or budget.

Leslie spent roughly six minutes criticizing the surprise ribbon-cutting ceremony for the clinic. He described the hospital as a house of hope, a nickname earned by its role in treating patients with rare conditions and those who have used up other medical options. He argued that the high-profile launch, which featured a panel of individuals holding placards that read vaccine injured, could tarnish that reputation.

Leslie stated that the board’s silence would be a failure of its advisory duties. He clarified that his objection was not to the scientific study of vaccine harms. He said serious reactions are rare but real and that people who believe they have been injured should be taken seriously.

Jonathan Green, the hospital’s chief executive officer, supported Leslie’s financial assessment during the same meeting. Green explained that the NIH has researched vaccine safety and efficacy for decades and that this work continues. He characterized the new clinic as just one more individual protocol among the many studies the institution conducts.

The remarks from both executives highlight a distinction between the public ceremony and the clinic’s operational reality. Leslie focused on the reputational risk to an institution serving vulnerable patients, while Green framed the addition as a modest expansion of ongoing research activities.

The clinic opened during a ceremony attended by Kennedy and other senior administration officials. The event included a panel of people who said they were hurt by vaccines. The hospital continues to operate under its existing budget and physical constraints.