The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting an investigation into possible deaths linked to COVID-19 vaccines, involving both children and adults, a spokesperson for the US Department of Health confirmed on Tuesday to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The confirmation came from Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, which is headed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health Secretary in President Donald Trump’s administration and a well-known critic of vaccines.
Rising Concerns Over Politicisation of Public Health
The investigation comes at a time when growing criticism is being voiced over the increasing politicisation of public health agencies, following Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointment and his moves to fundamentally reshape US vaccination policy.
“The FDA is conducting an in-depth investigation across various age groups regarding potential deaths attributed to COVID-19 vaccines,” Nixon told AFP, confirming reports by Bloomberg and The Washington Post.
Scientific Consensus on Vaccine Safety Remains
The effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines have been confirmed by multiple studies. While rare cases of serious side effects have been recorded, health authorities in most countries maintain that these do not undermine the overall benefits of vaccination for the vast majority of people across all age groups.
Timeline and Methods Remain Unclear
The spokesperson declined to specify when the findings of the investigation will be made public, noting that both the methods and scope of the inquiry remain unclear at this stage.
The investigation, which was initially expected to focus on possible deaths among children, has reignited controversy in recent weeks following the leak of an internal document in late November.
The memo, attributed to a senior FDA official, claimed that at least 10 child deaths were caused by COVID-19 vaccines, without providing any evidence to support the assertion.
Around ten former FDA officials have since expressed serious concern, calling for restraint and warning that “no explanation has been made public regarding the procedures and analyses that led to this retrospective assessment.”
Kennedy’s Past Statements Resurface
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is known to have previously spread misinformation and conspiracy theories regarding vaccines, particularly COVID-19 vaccines.
During the pandemic, he claimed the vaccines were “the deadliest ever made” and went so far as to state publicly that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was racially “targeted”, allegedly affecting white and Black populations but not Ashkenazi Jews or Chinese people — remarks he later retracted.
Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP).