An Army doctor is collaborating with the Trump administration to investigate the potential link between COVID-19 vaccines and deaths among U.S. service members following a mandate from the Biden era, according to a report from Politico on Thursday.
Dr. Theresa Long revealed in a deposition to a federal court in Virginia that she was appointed by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to serve as a senior medical military adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. She indicated that she is looking into 2,544 deaths reported to the HHS’ Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) to determine if they are connected to the COVID-19 vaccines.
In her deposition, Long mentioned her goal to finish this research on possible vaccine-related health issues “within a year,” as reported by Politico.
The Pentagon directed inquiries to the HHS for comments, which did not respond right away. Long also could not be reached for immediate comment.
When asked, the Department of War informed Politico that there are currently no announcements regarding Long’s position with Kennedy and pointed them to a statement from May 8.
The Pentagon’s statement indicated that it is actively supporting service members who have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
I promised 4 things:
1. to end covid vaccine mandates.
2. to keep vaccines available to people who want them, especially the vulnerable.
3. to demand placebo-controlled trials from companies.
4. to end the emergency.
In a series of FDA actions today we accomplished…
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) August 27, 2025
Kennedy has consistently criticized vaccines and has vowed to “end covid vaccine mandates” in the United States. Additionally, he emphasized his commitment, in an August 2025 post, to “restore trust in the vaccine program so that parents know we’re telling them the truth.”
Hegseth has previously labeled the military’s flu vaccine requirement as an “absurd, overreaching mandate,” as reported by NPR in June.
In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reinstate service members who were discharged due to the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandates.
The order stated, “On August 24, 2021, the Secretary of Defense mandated that all service members receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This mandate was later rescinded on January 10, 2023. The vaccine mandate was an unfair, overbroad, and completely unnecessary burden on our service members. Further, the military unjustly discharged those who refused the vaccine, regardless of their years of service, after often denying them legitimate exemption requests.”
