ANKARA

With vaccine skeptics taking on more leadership roles in the US health care bureaucracy, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reportedly investigating whether COVID-19 vaccines are linked to deaths among adults, as confirmed by the agency.

According to a report from The New York Times, the FDA launched this broader review after earlier examining reports of potential vaccine-related deaths in children.

In a statement provided to the media, the US Department of Health and Human Services – led by longtime vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr. – confirmed that the FDA is now conducting a thorough investigation into deaths potentially associated with COVID-19 vaccines across multiple age groups.

An internal FDA memo from late November – portions of which were later reported by the media – indicated that the agency had identified and was further evaluating reports involving the deaths of approximately 10 children that may be linked to vaccination.

The same memo outlined plans to apply more rigorous standards to future vaccine authorizations, including requirements for clearer evidence of real-world disease prevention.

This shift in oversight comes under the leadership of Kennedy, who has repeatedly stated that vaccine safety evaluation must be based on the most transparent and comprehensive data available, regardless of prior regulatory decisions, but whose decisions are coming under fire for allegedly ignoring well-established science in favor of fringe theories.

Since the vaccines became available in late 2020, around the height of the pandemic, more than 675 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the US, according to data compiled from the World Health Organization.