NIH Scours Papers Tied To ‘Fighting Misinformation Or Disinformation’
Staffers were given hours Wednesday to identify contracts and grants that directed "people to believe one idea over another related to health outcomes." The initiative came as no surprise to public health researchers, Stat reports. Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health let go of another top director.
Stat:
On NIH Director’s First Day, The Agency Tackles One Of His Priorities — Ending ‘Censorship’ In Science
In October, Jay Bhattacharya, then a health economist at Stanford University, posted on X: “If you favor government control of misinformation, you are an enemy of free speech.” On Wednesday, on his first morning serving as director of the National Institutes of Health, the agency directed staff to compile a list of grants and contracts related to “fighting misinformation or disinformation” — a step that in recent weeks has preceded the termination of research funding in areas that run counter to the Trump administration’s priorities. (Oza, 3/26)
Politico:
RFK Jr.'s Food Stamp Plan Fuels Tension With USDA
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to swiftly bar the use of food stamps to buy soda is fueling tensions between his team and the Agriculture Department, according to four people inside and outside government familiar with the dynamics. The Health and Human Services secretary wants the Trump administration to approve state petitions banning soda from the program for the first time. But he doesn’t control the massive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is managed by the USDA. (Cancryn and Brown, 3/27)
KFF Health News:
Trump Turns Homelessness Response Away From Housing, Toward Forced Treatment
President Donald Trump is vowing a new approach to getting homeless people off the streets by forcibly moving those living outside into large camps while mandating mental health and addiction treatment — an aggressive departure from the nation’s leading homelessness policy, which for decades has prioritized housing as the most effective way to combat the crisis. “Our once-great cities have become unlivable, unsanitary nightmares,” Trump said in a presidential campaign video. “For those who are severely mentally ill and deeply disturbed, we will bring them to mental institutions, where they belong, with the goal of reintegrating them back into society once they are well enough to manage.” Now that he’s in office, the assault on “Housing First” has begun. (Hart, 3/27)
On the federal budget cuts and funding freeze —
Stat:
Tara Schwetz, Who Oversaw Creation Of ARPA-H, Placed On Leave By NIH
The National Institutes of Health on Wednesday placed deputy director Tara Schwetz on administrative leave, according to a source familiar with the decision, marking the third time a senior leader has departed the agency since the Trump administration took power roughly nine weeks ago. (Facher, 3/26)
Politico:
Judge Signals He May Narrow Scope Of Order Requiring Reinstatement Of Probationary Workers
A federal judge indicated Wednesday that he may narrow an earlier ruling that required the Trump administration to rehire nearly 25,000 probationary workers. U.S. District Judge James Bredar entered a sweeping order two weeks ago reversing the administration’s mass terminations at 18 major federal agencies, including most Cabinet departments. That order applied nationwide, but Bredar said at a court hearing Wednesday that he may replace it with a more limited injunction that applies only in 19 states and the District of Columbia — the jurisdictions that sued over the firings. (Gerstein, 3/26)
MedPage Today:
Alzheimer's Research Caught In Trump Funding Delays
Research and patient care may quickly stop at 14 of the country's Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) due to lack of funds. Funding has effectively been halted at 14 of the nation's 35 ADRC after the Trump administration repeatedly canceled NIH advisory council meetings, the final step required in the ADRC grant approval process. "The 14 ADRCs remain in limbo," Alzheimer's researcher Ann Cohen, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, told MedPage Today. (George, 3/26)
The Washington Post:
Trump Cuts To USAID Halt Funding For Global Vaccinations
The United States is planning to terminate more than $1 billion in funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, an international organization that offers lifesaving vaccinations for millions of people each year in some of the world’s poorest countries, according to information in a document the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) sent to Congress this week. The surprise cuts to Gavi “would have a disastrous impact on global health security, potentially resulting in the deaths of more than 1 million children over five years and endangering lives everywhere from dangerous disease outbreaks,” said Sania Nishtar, a Pakistani doctor and chief executive of the organization. (Taylor and Martinez, 3/26)
Also —
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Prosecutors Probe Tip About Timing Of Pfizer Vaccine
Soon after President Trump won the presidential election in November, British drugmaker GSK brought an unusual claim to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, according to people familiar with the matter. A senior GSK scientist, who formerly worked at rival Pfizer, had told GSK colleagues that Pfizer delayed announcing the success of its Covid vaccine in 2020 until after that year’s election. (Dawsey, Zuckerman and Hopkins, 3/26)
