HHS redirects $500 million to Trump appointee's vaccine project, bypassing reviews
Published by CBS News on May 1, 2025
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-flu-vaccine-funding-trump-administration/
Funding for COVID-19 and flu vaccine research was cut after senior NIH officials shifted priorities away from next-generation and mRNA vaccine development. Those decisions favored narrower research approaches championed internally, even as broader vaccine preparedness efforts were paused or slowed. The changes later became central to a whistleblower complaint raising concerns about scientific independence and readiness for future outbreaks.