Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are working together on a new investigation into whether COVID-19 vaccination contributed to deaths or other health problems among U.S. service members, according to testimony. TrialSite News has also independently received direct verification from a source within the federal government that Kennedy and Hegseth worked to bring Army physician Dr. Theresa Long to engage in this effort.
Long, board-certified in aerospace medicine and holding an MPH, testified that Hegseth detailed her to serve as Kennedy’s senior medical military adviser. She is examining 2,544 deaths reported to VAERS involving service members, although those reports are unverified and VAERS reports alone cannot establish vaccine causation. Long said she hopes to complete the work within a year.
The inquiry also includes military health-surveillance systems. A 2026 Pentagon report acknowledged a short-term increase in myocarditis and pericarditis following COVID-19 vaccination but reported that the increase was not sustained over one year.