Annals of Internal Medicine rejects calls to retract vaccine study.
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Science and politics continue to clash.

The Annals of Internal Medicine is refusing to retract a recently published study that looked into the health risks that vaccines containing aluminum-based ingredients have on children, according to a report from Reuters.¹ According to the research, these vaccines are safe for children. However, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has made it clear that he does not agree with the results.

Why is Robert F. Kennedy calling for a medical journal to retract a vaccine study?

Researchers published their results in the US-based medical journal in July of this year. Funded by the Danish government, the study looked at health data for 1.2 million children across the country across two decades. According to the published results, vaccines with aluminum-based ingredients to not show evidence of any increased risk for autoimmune, atopic or allergic, or neurodevelopmental disorders.

Adam Finn, a childhood vaccination expert from the UK, is quoted in Reuters’ report as saying that the study is the best evidence yet of the safety of aluminum in vaccines.

However, is a guest article on Trial Site News titled “Flawed Science, Bought Conclusions: The Aluminum Vaccine Study the Media Won’t Question,”² HHS Secretary Kennedy calls the results of the study into question. In the post, Kennedy claims that the trial’s results were designed “not to find harm.” He explains that a number of children were not included in the data set for the following reasons:

• They died before age two.
• They were diagnosed early with respiratory conditions.
• Children who had the highest aluminum exposure, according to their vaccine records.

According to Reuters,¹ the trial’s lead author, Anders Peter Hviid, refuted Kennedy’s criticisms and said they were not substantive. He also denied that any deceit was intended by the study’s authors. He told the news outlet, “I am used to controversy around vaccine safety studies - especially those that relate to autism, but I have not been targeted by a political figurehead in this way before. I have confidence in our work and in our ability to reply to the critiques of our study."

For example, Hviid explained that the lack of control group for the study was due to the fact that in Denmark, only about 2% of children are unvaccinated, making the population too small to be meaningful for the study. Hviid also responded to Kennedy’s claims about the study design by explaining that the design was based on a study led by Matthew Daley, which Kennedy had cited in his response article.

Dr. Christine Lain, editor in chief of Annals, said there are no plans to retract the study. The journal reportedly has plans to respond to criticism at a future date.

According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,³ aluminum is used in vaccines as an adjuvant, allowing for smaller and fewer doses of vaccines to be effective. It also notes that humans (including infants) regularly ingest small amounts of aluminum every day, and it has a half-life of about 24 hours once it enters the blood stream. Studies have shown few health effects from aluminum exposure, with most of the recorded effects being related to kidney dialysis.

HHS Secretary Kennedy is a controversial figure in health sciences. The government official has regularly claimed that he is not anti-vaccine and American citizens should have access to safe and effective vaccines that they choose to take. However, he has associated with multiple anti-vaccine groups prior to joining the current administration. Since becoming HHS Secretary, he has also taken steps to negatively impact vaccine research and development, such as cutting nearly $500 million in funding for mRNA research. Kennedy claims that the decision was made after scientific studies revealed risks with mRNA vaccines, although multiple health experts have publicly refuted his claims and have challenged the methods he used to come to them.

Sources

1. Medical journal rejects Kennedy's call for retraction of vaccine study. Reuters. August 11, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/medical-journal-rejects-kennedys-call-for-retraction-vaccine-study-2025-08-11/
2. Flawed Science, Bought Conclusions: The Aluminum Vaccine Study the Media Won’t Question. Trial Site News. August 1, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.trialsitenews.com/a/flawed-science-bought-conclusions-the-aluminum-vaccine-study-the-media-wont-question-aaec2793
3. Vaccine Ingredients: Aluminum. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. https://www.chop.edu/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-safety/vaccine-ingredients/aluminum#injectionvsingestionofaluminum