# RFK Jr. Recruits Military Doctor to Lead Covid Vaccine Investigation Among Service Members
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has hired Dr. Theresa Long, an Army physician, to investigate whether Covid-19 vaccines caused deaths among approximately 2,500 military service members. Long's appointment signals a shift in the direction of vaccine safety inquiries within Kennedy's emerging health policy sphere, following his selection as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Long served as a flight surgeon and occupational medicine physician in the U.S. Army. In legal depositions, she has made extreme comparisons between military Covid vaccination policies and historical atrocities. Court documents show Long equated immunizing service members to Nazi medical experiments conducted on concentration camp prisoners. These statements reflect the framing that shapes her investigation into vaccine-related military deaths.
The investigation centers on military deaths that occurred during the initial Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Kennedy's team plans to examine whether the vaccines contributed to these deaths through mechanisms including myocarditis, blood clots, or other adverse events. The Army conducted its own safety reviews of these cases, though those findings remain subject to interpretation and debate within medical communities.
Long's background includes public advocacy against Covid-19 vaccine mandates. She filed complaints with the Army's medical inspector general and testified before state legislatures about vaccine safety concerns. Her appointment reflects Kennedy's stated commitment to investigating what he characterizes as suppressed safety data within federal health agencies.
The medical establishment has consistently found Covid-19 vaccines safe and effective for military personnel. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense, and independent researchers have not identified a causal link between the vaccines and the deaths Long plans to investigate. Autopsy findings in these cases typically cite conditions including heart disease, infection, or existing health factors.
Military vaccine mandates remain controversial among some service members and conservative political figures. Critics argue the mandates violated bodily autonomy, while supporters contend they protected troops during a period of high disease transmission and prevented operational disruptions.
Long's investigation will operate within Kennedy's broader health policy agenda. Kennedy has questioned vaccine safety across multiple inoculations and promoted approaches to public health that prioritize individual choice over population-level disease prevention strategies. His selection as HHS secretary requires Senate confirmation and would place him atop agencies responsible for vaccine approval, safety monitoring, and distribution.
The appointment raises questions about how federal vaccine safety evaluations will function under new leadership. The current system relies on pharmacovigilance networks, clinical trial data, and epidemiological studies. Long's investigation, by contrast, appears to prioritize individual case analysis and historical comparison rather than population-level data analysis.
Medical professionals and public health experts have expressed concern about the direction of vaccine safety inquiries. They emphasize that extraordinary claims about vaccine harm require extraordinary evidence based on rigorous methodology. Random case clustering among large populations occurs naturally and does not establish causation.
The investigation into military deaths will likely receive significant attention during Kennedy's confirmation process. Congress will assess whether the inquiry represents legitimate safety review or advocacy for predetermined conclusions about vaccine risk.