HHS announces revival of childhood vaccine safety task force | 14 Aug 2025 | The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday announced it was reinstating the long-dormant Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, which provides oversight of vaccines that are administered to children. The panel was created by Congress in 1986 under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, but gave Congress its final report in 1998. The task force and HHS secretary are required to give Congress updates every two years. The new panel will consist of experts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, with NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya serving as chairman.