HHS Axes Research Into New Antiviral Medications

March 26, 2025 Medicine, Science

Nature reports:

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have begun cancelling billions of dollars in funding on research related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has killed more than 7 million people globally, including more than 1.2 million people in the United States, and continues to infect and kill people. Studying the virus, how it infects people and the government’s response to the pandemic is also crucial to preventing the next one, say scientists.

Among the terminations at the NIH is a $577 million programme to identify and develop antiviral drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and six other types of viruses with pandemic potential.

But wait, there’s more:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pulling back $11.4 billion in funds allocated in response to the pandemic to state and community health departments, nongovernment organizations and international recipients, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Tuesday.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” HHS Director of Communications Andrew Nixon said in a statement.

“HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again.”

Yesterday the NIH defunded dozens of studies on LGBTQ health and canceled all research into long COVID.



Tags

© joemygod.com 2025