HHS Launches Agency-Wide Actions to Strengthen Vaccine Injury Research, Reporting, and Patient Care

WASHINGTON, D.C.—OCTOBER 8, 2026— The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this week launched a series of actions to strengthen how the federal government identifies, documents, investigates, and responds to health problems reported following vaccination, with a focus on improving patient care and generating better evidence about potential vaccine-related injuries.

To address health problems Americans report after vaccinations, HHS:

• Opened a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinic dedicated to studying and caring for patients experiencing health problems following vaccination;
• Proposed reimbursing physicians for reporting suspected vaccine-related injuries to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) through a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) policy, bringing vaccine reporting in Medicare in line with typical Medicare reimbursement policies;
• Will require electronic health records to capture vaccine-related adverse events so that information can follow patients across the health care system; and
• Is modernizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) VAERS to make reporting simpler and improve the tools available to researchers and medical professionals investigating potential safety signals.

“We must listen to patients and families who report vaccine injuries—not dismiss or gaslight them,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “President Trump and I are building a health system that takes them seriously, follows the evidence, and uses what we learn to make vaccines safer. This is how we earn back trust in our public health institutions.”

NIH Opens Clinic for Patient Care and Research

On October 5, NIH opened a new clinic dedicated to studying and caring for patients experiencing health problems following vaccination. HHS and NIH leaders marked the opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at NIH’s Bethesda campus.

The clinic brings specialized patient care and scientific investigation together, allowing NIH clinicians and researchers to evaluate patients, study their experiences, investigate potential causes, and identify better approaches to care. By connecting patients directly with clinicians and researchers, NIH will expand access to evaluation and care while advancing scientific understanding of health problems reported following vaccination.

CMS Proposes Reimbursing Physicians for VAERS Reporting

For the first time, CMS has proposed reimbursing physicians for the time they spend submitting reports of suspected vaccine-related injuries to VAERS, bringing vaccine reporting in Medicare in line with typical Medicare reimbursement policies.

VAERS relies on reports from health care professionals, patients, caregivers, vaccine manufacturers, and others to help identify potential vaccine safety concerns. CMS proposes the reimbursement policy to reduce barriers to physician reporting and encourage health care professionals to document suspected adverse events following vaccination.

Electronic Health Records to Capture Vaccine-Related Adverse Events

Federal health information technology standards overseen by the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will now require electronic health records to capture vaccine-related adverse events so that this information can follow patients across the health care system.

The requirement will give health care professionals a more complete picture of a patient’s medical history and reduce the need for patients to repeatedly recount the same information when receiving care from different providers.

CDC Modernizing VAERS

CDC is modernizing VAERS to make adverse-event reporting simpler, more accessible, and easier to use.

In August, CDC solicited bids for a new contract to overhaul the system. On September 28, CDC announced a new contract to make VAERS accessible on mobile devices and improve the tools available to researchers and medical professionals investigating potential safety signals. Earlier this year, CDC also added a VAERS QR code to Vaccine Information Statements provided to parents and patients for each vaccine administered.

Together, these Department-wide actions will connect patient care, physician reporting, medical records, clinical research, and federal safety monitoring. They will help HHS better identify and investigate potential vaccine injuries, improve care for patients, and use what it learns to strengthen vaccine safety.