NIH Layoffs: The Politics of Science Funding

At the end of March, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a reduction in the workforce of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 80,000 to 60,000 employees. Thousands of workers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) are among those affected by this staffing slash. At the NIH in particular, where the directors of several institutes have been placed on administrative leave, these changes represent the first bloodshed in the slaughter of the scientific community driven by US President Donald Trump. 

In addition to these mass layoffs, Trump’s barrage of attacks on science includes the termination of research funding and censorship, specifically targeting projects surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), vaccine hesitancy, COVID-19, climate change, and HIV and AIDS. Amongst the pile of brutally scrapped programmes is $577 million in funding previously awarded to conduct antiviral drug discovery research for SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses, which have the potential to cause pandemics in the future. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic, which killed almost 7.1 million globally, called to attention humanity’s unpreparedness for an infectious disease outbreak, this research would have primed responses to the future spread of infectious viruses, including Ebola and Marburg Viruses. 

Some may think this unsurprising, given that Kennedy, who oversees HHS activities, is a notorious anti-vaccine proponent and has previously purveyed misinformation in support of vaccine hesitancy, including false claims that vaccines cause autism. But let’s be clear: vaccines represent one of the most crucial advancements in modern medicine and have saved innumerable lives — to promote misleading statements about their efficacy and safety is endangering. 

As such, it is important to retaliate with an accurate, factual account of the importance and value of NIH-funded projects that have had their funding cut. For example, work to improve the accessibility and efficacy of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to control rates of HIV, led by Harvard Medical School Professor Dr Julia Marcus. $2.5 million in funding to support the implementation of long-acting injectable PrEP was one of three federal grants retracted from Dr Marcus, who published policy recommendations for overcoming barriers currently limiting the implementation of long-acting injectables, despite their efficacy, at the beginning of the year. HIV research appears to be a key item on the Republican funding chopping block, with HIV-focused studies at Brown University, Yale University, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care also losing grants. With 1.2 million people living with HIV and approximately 31,800 new HIV infections in 2022, now is not the time to be compromising on funding for HIV research. 

This evidence-starved, anti-scientific rhetoric spouted from red-faced, ultracrepidarian Republicans is lethal not only for America but also for the rest of the world. At a time when unsubstantiated statements and conspiratorial contentions spread like wildfire across the dark forest of the internet, we are at risk of being burned here in the UK. A biannually tracked YouGov poll asking if "vaccines have harmful effects which are not being disclosed to the public" has seen ten per cent of UK adults respond “definitely true” and 24 per cent respond “probably true,” as of 29 January 2025. With the number of children receiving a first dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine falling in 2024, distortion from the Trump camp represents a dangerous threat to UK public health.  

It is evident that we are approaching a tipping point in the war of science and misinformation. You must understand that when you block out the noise — digital or otherwise — it boils down to the simple distinction between truth and lie. Evidence-based medical research aligns with the former, and the ramblings of a dangerous conspiracy theory are the latter. 

Illustration by Vera Kaganskaya