The National Institutes of Health (NIH) yesterday terminated at least 33 research grants studying vaccine hesitancy and strategies to increase vaccine uptake and scaled back 9 others on the topic, Science reported, based on information from a person with direct knowledge and a review of the cancellation letter that researchers received.

According to Science, acting NIH Director Michael Memoli, MD, last week asked NIH institutes for a list of current and future grants addressing vaccine hesitancy. Scientists connected to the grants were set to receive termination letters last night.
The termination letter seen by Science said their awards "no longer effectuates agency priorities. It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize research activities that focus on gaining scientific knowledge on why individuals are hesitant to be vaccinated and/or explore ways to improve vaccine interest and commitment."
New Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a known vaccine skeptic, and when President Donald Trump nominated him, he gave Kennedy the green light to make major policy changes that align with his personal health beliefs. The cuts come amid one of the nation's biggest measles outbreaks in recent years, an event on the Texas–New Mexico border that has so far sickened at least 253 people, 2 of them fatally. Most were unvaccinated. (See related CIDRAP News story today.)
Some studies geared toward boosting uptake in minorities
Of the terminated grants, 14 were made by the NIH's National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and involved vaccines for diseases such as mpox, human papillomavirus (HPV), chickenpox, COVID, and a hypothetical gonorrhea vaccine. Some addressed increasing uptake in racial minority groups, while others included vaccine hesitancy as one of several variables in disease outbreak modeling.
Science also reported that Memoli last week asked the NIH's institutes for similar lists of planned or current grants related to mRNA vaccine research, as well as a list of international research collaborations.