"In March 2024, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiated an investigation in response to concerns from participants who were evaluated as part of a study on Anomalous Health Incidents (AHI), the results of which were published in the journal JAMA... The NIH investigation found that regulatory and NIH policy requirements for informed consent were not met due to coercion, although not on the part of NIH researchers," the NIH said in a statement obtained by Fox News on Monday.
According to Fox News, some patients complained that NIH was working with the CIA to screen patients. "The CIA dictated who would go," one patient said. The report claims that the CIA pressured patients by offering treatment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in exchange for participating.
The NIH said given the role of voluntary consent as a key pillar of ethical research, it stopped the study out of an abundance of caution. NIH also said the investigative findings do not impact the study's conclusions.
US government and related personnel have reported Havana syndrome symptoms since 2015, including dizziness, pain, visual problems and cognitive dysfunction following intrusive sounds and head pressure. In early March, The Washington Post reported five US intelligence agencies concluded it was "very unlikely" that any foreign adversary targeted US diplomats and intelligence staff with the help of some sort of energy weapon that caused strange and painful acoustic sensations.
On March 31, CBS reported that based on new evidence Russia was allegedly behind a series of Havana syndrome-style attacks, including against US officials in Vietnam ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip there in 2021. Following the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the accusations groundless and emphasized that no evidence has ever been provided to back such claims.
In congressional testimony in May, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said the agency was continuing to investigate anomalous health incidents, but needed to close gaps it identified. Haines underscored that the intelligence community has not changed its initial assessments that it is very unlikely that a foreign actor would be behind the incidents.