NIH launches center on vaccine and post-infection symptoms — SkimNews
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- NIH announced a new center to study long-term health effects following vaccination or infection, with initial focus tied to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s advocacy on vaccine safety.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared with top health officials at a private event to announce the NIH center, reinforcing his influence on federal health policy despite controversy.
- NIH officials stated the center would also study long-term symptoms after infections, including long Covid, reflecting a broader scientific scope than Kennedy’s vaccine injury focus.
- A senior NIH official noted that immunological responses to vaccines and infections can be similar, making it difficult to distinguish causes in patients with long-term symptoms after both exposures.
- The new center aims to apply rigorous science to patient-reported conditions that have often been dismissed, potentially validating concerns from both vaccine-injury and long-Covid communities.
Why it matters: By framing post-vaccine and post-infection syndromes as immunologically overlapping, the NIH center could shift treatment approaches and research funding toward shared mechanisms, affecting millions with long Covid or vaccine-related symptoms—while balancing political pressure with scientific breadth.
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