The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is carrying out a wide-ranging investigation into deaths that may be linked to Covid-19 vaccines, a spokesperson for President Donald Trump’s vaccine-sceptic health secretary confirmed on Tuesday. Since Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the administration has launched a sweeping review of national vaccine policies — a move that has raised alarm among medical experts. “FDA is conducting a comprehensive investigation across multiple age groups into deaths potentially associated with Covid vaccines,” Andrew Nixon, spokesperson for the department, told AFP. Bloomberg and The Washington Post previously reported on the inquiry. The probe, initially aimed at examining possible child deaths, has drawn intense scrutiny after the leak of an internal FDA memo in late November. The document, attributed to a senior agency official, alleged that Covid vaccines were linked to at least 10 infant deaths — a claim presented without supporting evidence. Global health authorities continue to maintain that Covid-19 vaccines are both safe and effective, noting that while rare severe side effects have been documented, they do not outweigh the overall benefits of vaccination for most age groups. Nixon declined to specify the methods, data and timeline for the investigation’s completion. Experts have voiced concern over the actions of the FDA under Kennedy, who is known for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories. In 2023, Kennedy called the vaccines deadly and alleged without evidence that the virus itself was ethnically “targeted” to harm Black and White people while sparing Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.