# NIH slashes vaccine hesitancy research funding 4 years after Biden spent millions combating 'misinformation' | Fox News

## Health Care in Politics

### Millions spent by Biden on COVID 'vaccine hesitancy' campaign slashed by Trump NIH: report
### 'They do not align with NIH funding priorities,' a National Institutes of Health (NIH) email said



**Dr. Marty Makary** pointed out the Biden administration's decision to skip key committee meetings when authorizing vaccines in response to a top Democrat's question. (C-SPAN)

The  (NIH) is reportedly gearing up to cancel dozens of research grants about vaccine hesitancy by the end of the month, just four years after the Biden administration poured millions of dollars into combating COVID-19 vaccine skepticism.

According to an internal email obtained by  this week with the subject line "required terminations — 3/10/25," the agency had "received a new list… of awards that need to be terminated, today. It has been determined they do not align with NIH funding priorities related to vaccine hesitancy and/or uptake."

More than 40 grants are on the chopping block, according to the Post's report, and when notifying researchers of the NIH's termination, they should be told "not to prioritize research activities that focuses gaining scientific knowledge on why individuals are hesitant to be vaccinated and/or explore ways to improve vaccine interest and commitment."





**President Joe Biden** receives his updated COVID-19 booster in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 25, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In  titled "Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death By Race/Ethnicity" in December 2022, the department reported that Black people are more likely to contract COVID-19 than White people.

"Sure enough, the feds have spent at least $127 million in grants specifically targeted to study the spread of 'misinformation' — or to help people ‘overcome’ it, so to speak — by persuading them to go along with COVID-related public health recommendations and mandates," the Open the Books report said.

It's unclear if the cancelation of grants came from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., but the Trump administration has been highly critical of the previous administration's spending. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has also been taking a scalpel to DEI-related funding amid President Donald Trump's effort to downsize the government workforce.





**Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during his Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)**

Kennedy has  on reforming food policies, expanding healthcare coverage and holding big pharmaceutical companies accountable since his controversial Senate confirmation last month.

Jamie Joseph is a U.S. Politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering transgender and culture issues, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, and stateside legislative developments.

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