Flu shots, vaccines latest update: Donald Trump's Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. launches new push on vaccine injuries. All you need to know

Vaccine skeptic US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has announced a series of initiatives to study the rare adverse effects of vaccines. Appointed by President Donald Trump despite a lack of formal medical training, Kennedy has faced criticism from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other medical experts for efforts to overhaul child vaccinations in the United States.

"We must listen to patients and families who report vaccine injuries -- not dismiss or gaslight them," Kennedy said in a statement announcing the creation of a research center dedicated to monitoring and addressing vaccine side effects.

Like all medicines, vaccines can have side effects, including mild ones such as slight fever or pain at the injection site. Serious adverse effects remain very rare and are subject to continuous monitoring by health officials to ensure that vaccine benefits outweigh the risks.


According to WHO, vaccination currently prevents up to five million deaths every year from diseases such as diptheria, tetanus, influenza and measles.

"The issue really isn't whether we should study vaccine safety," epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, told National Public Radio.

"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 announcement comes as the federal health department has undergone significant budget cuts and the country faces its worst measles outbreak in 35 years.

The highly contagious illness has made a strong comeback in the US in recent years among unvaccinated populations, where growing mistrust of health officials has been reported.

In the eastern US state of Pennsylvania, local authorities have reported five measles-related deaths in 2026 alone.

Kennedy has said US children receive too many vaccines, falsely claiming repeatedly that kids get up to 90 doses before age 18, which has been echoed by President Donald Trump. Kennedy has long argued that chemicals in vaccines are dangerous, though experts say there is no evidence of harm.

In his first year heading HHS, he fired all 17 independent expert members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee and selected new panelists, many of whom shared his anti-vaccine views.

In January, the CDC announced a revamped childhood vaccine schedule that reduced recommended vaccines, dropping universal recommendations for flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B at birth, some forms of meningitis and respiratory syncytial virus.

A federal court issued a preliminary injunction in March blocking key parts of the proposed changes, finding that Kennedy and HHS had violated federal law in reshaping the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The injunction has prevented ACIP from holding meetings to make recommendations on immunizations often needed for insurance coverage.