If you’ve ever left a doctor’s office feeling like no one believed you, a new federal research effort may matter to you. In October, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the Vaccinology and Immunology Center. The study will examine people with serious health problems after vaccination or long-term symptoms after an infection, such as long COVID.

The NIH vaccine research center operates out of the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. According to NIH, people who report these problems “deserve to be heard, taken seriously and evaluated with the best tools science can offer.”

For many Black patients, that promise hits close to home. Below, medical experts explain what the center will do, why medical gaslighting matters and how to get involved.

Why NIH created the new center

Specifically, the center is part of the Vaccine Research Center clinic at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, and NIAID Acting Director John H. Powers III, MD, announced it in a joint statement on Oct. 19.

Their statement makes two points at once. First, “Vaccines prevent serious illness and save lives, and they can also cause adverse effects like any other medical product.” Second, many infections “can cause long-term symptoms often indistinguishable from adverse events after vaccination.”

In other words, people with lingering symptoms after a vaccine or an infection often face the same problem: no clear answers. Notably, the federal government has recognized for decades that vaccines can cause rare harms. In fact, Congress created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in 1986.

Shawn Hamilton, MD, MBA, is a board-certified internist and former regional medical director at Health Net of California. She said rare reactions still deserve study. “Medicine is done on people,” she told Blavity Health. “There are many reactions that happen to patients that we are not able to identify after reading all of the records. Research allows us to find what causes a reaction or illness.”

What will the new center actually do?

According to NIH, the NIH vaccine research center has four main goals:

  • Understanding the “why”: Figuring out the symptoms and biological mechanisms behind each person’s illness, including whether a vaccine or infection played a role.
  • Identifying the risk: Finding out whether certain people are more vulnerable to these problems.
  • Finding treatments: Exploring treatment options and connecting participants with ongoing care closer to home.
  • Improving safety: Using what researchers learn to make vaccines and vaccination practices safer.

For people who are sick right now, that third goal may be the most important part of the NIH vaccine research center. Rather than simply collecting data, the study aims to point participants toward care.

Feeling sick after a shot does not automatically mean the shot caused it. As NIH put it, “Timing alone does not establish causality.” Instead, researchers will look at whether vaccination or infection may have contributed. They’ll also check whether another condition could explain the problem and which biological mechanisms may be involved.

Still, NIH said, “Acknowledging uncertainty and investigating it rigorously are essential parts of that commitment.”

Let’s talk about medical gaslighting

In short, medical gaslighting happens when a provider dismisses or downplays a patient’s symptoms without fully investigating them. Unfortunately, for Black patients, that experience is all too familiar.

Isha Metzger, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychology at Georgia State University, studies racial trauma in Black families. “Medical gaslighting rarely stems from outright malice. Racial bias in clinical encounters can lead providers to discount symptoms rather than investigate them,” she told Blavity Health.

Notably, research backs that up. For example, a 2016 study surveyed white medical students and residents. About half endorsed false beliefs about biological differences between Black and white people. Those who held those beliefs rated Black patients’ pain lower.

Sarah Bonza, MD, MPH, FAAFP, a family physician and founder of Bonza Health, sees it from both sides. “To me, medical gaslighting happens when a physician isn’t willing to say ‘I don’t know,'” she told Blavity Health. “I’m an African American woman, and I have experienced it myself.” She added, “When medicine can’t yet explain something, the patient shouldn’t pay the price for that gap.”

Sabrina Crouch, PsyD, a licensed psychologist in New York and New Jersey who lives with chronic pain, pointed to another factor. “Stereotypes about pain tolerance and the expectation that Black patients should remain strong can influence how symptoms are interpreted,” she told Blavity Health.

In fact, researchers have even given the pattern a name. A 2025 study of Black women in Canada described it as “anti-Black medical gaslighting.”

Similarly, the problem shows up in long COVID. A recent Health Affairs analysis looked at about 2.4 million patients. It found that Black patients received a long COVID diagnosis about 6% less often than white patients, even with similar symptoms. As a result, the researchers raised concerns about “diagnostic bias,” CIDRAP reported.

Meanwhile, a 2022 study of long COVID patients documented dismissal, delayed diagnosis and deferred treatment as common experiences.

The toll of dismissal

Dismissal does more than hurt feelings. “Repeated dismissal can erode a person’s trust in both the healthcare system and themselves,” Crouch said. “Patients may begin wondering whether they are exaggerating, imagining their symptoms or somehow responsible for not getting better.”

Christine Schneider, a UK-based clinical psychologist and founder of Cambridge Therapy Centre, stressed that a lack of answers isn’t proof of nothing. “Not having an explanation for someone’s symptoms doesn’t mean those symptoms aren’t real,” she told Blavity Health.

Metzger agreed. “Being dismissed is itself a stressor,” she said. “For people already carrying racial trauma, being dismissed by a provider can compound it.”

Also, people who feel brushed off may stop reporting symptoms or delay care altogether. Many Black women say doctors aren’t listening, and some now push for extra testing just so doctors take them seriously. On top of that, chronic stress already takes a heavy toll on Black women’s health.

To be sure, NIH’s commitment to study these cases is a start. However, Metzger said trust takes more than an announcement. “Trust is built through consistent, visible community partnership rather than one-time outreach,” she said. “A research center can address that by making patient voice part of its governance, not only its outreach.”

Crouch put it simply: “Most importantly, patients must be treated as partners rather than problems to be solved.”

How to make sure your symptoms are heard

Of course, you can’t control a provider’s bias, but you can make your symptoms harder to overlook. The steps below can help at any appointment, whether or not you join the NIH vaccine research center study.

  • Keep a dated symptom log, including how long symptoms last and how they affect sleep, work and daily life.
  • Write down your top two or three concerns before each appointment.
  • Ask, “What else could explain this, and what would we rule out?”
  • If a test or referral is declined, ask that the reason be noted in your chart.
  • Bring a trusted person to take notes, and get a second opinion if you need one.

“Medical providers bring clinical expertise, but patients bring essential knowledge about their own bodies and lived experiences. Both forms of expertise need to be in the room,” Crouch said.

If you leave an appointment without answers, don’t stop there. “If you leave without a diagnosis, ask what the next steps are and when your symptoms should be reviewed,” Schneider said. “You deserve to understand what’s happening with your care, even when there aren’t immediate answers.”

Finally, Hamilton suggested having one doctor review your full history. “There are so many doctors out there that only read the information that pertains to their field of expertise,” she said.

How to participate in the NIH’s vaccine research

Do you or a loved one have serious, unexplained symptoms after a vaccine or an infection? Here’s what to know before reaching out:

  • It’s a research study, not a clinic. The center does not take walk-ins or offer routine appointments.
  • Enrollment starts small. NIH expects to enroll several hundred people initially, focusing on those with the most severe adverse effects or long-term symptoms.
  • The timeline is still taking shape. NIH is finalizing the study protocol and eligibility criteria and expects to launch the study before the end of 2026.
  • You may not have to travel far. Participants may visit Bethesda for evaluations, but the study may also refer people to local clinics and partner facilities.
  • Here’s who to contact. Call the NIH Clinical Center Office of Patient Recruitment at 800-411-1222 or email [email protected].

Even so, keep in mind that reaching out does not guarantee you’ll be eligible or enrolled.

Bottom line

The new NIH vaccine research center will study people with serious problems after vaccination or long-term symptoms after infection. Its goal is to find causes, treatments and safer practices. As NIH put it, “Investigating potential harms is part of responsible science.” Vaccines still save lives, and you have every right to ask for transparency and to have your symptoms taken seriously. If cost is a barrier to follow-up care, review your coverage options.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the NIH say about vaccines?

In its statement on the new center, NIH said vaccines prevent serious illness and save lives, but like any medical product, they can also cause adverse effects.

What new vaccines are being developed?

NIH’s Vaccine Research Center, which houses the new center, develops experimental vaccines and antibody treatments for diseases including HIV, influenza, coronaviruses and malaria, according to NIAID.

Citations

Au L, Capotescu C, Eyal G, Finestone G. Long covid and medical gaslighting: Dismissal, delayed diagnosis, and deferred treatment. SSM – Qualitative Research in Health. Published December 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100167

Bergeson L. Many Black US patients with long COVID being missed, analysis reveals. CIDRAP. Published July 2026. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/many-black-us-patients-long-covid-being-missed-analysis-reveals

Bhattacharya J, Powers JH III. Statement from NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and NIAID Acting Director John H. Powers III on the New NIH Vaccinology and Immunology Center. National Institutes of Health. Published October 19, 2026. https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/nih-director/statements/statement-nih-director-jay-bhattacharya-niaid-acting-director-john-h-powers-iii-new-nih-vaccinology-immunology-center

Boakye PN, Prendergast N, Bailey A, et al. Anti-Black medical gaslighting in healthcare: Experiences of Black women in Canada. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research. Published 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/08445621241247865

Butzin-Dozier Z, Ji Y, Deshpande S, et al. Black patients underdiagnosed with long COVID in the US compared with white patients. Health Affairs. Published July 2026. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2025.00179

Hoffman KM, Trawalter S, Axt JR, Oliver MN. Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Published April 19, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1516047113

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Vaccine Research Center. National Institutes of Health. Accessed October 23, 2026. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/vrc