US Health Agency Cuts Funding on Vaccine Hesitancy and Acceptance Studies

By: DLHA Staff Writer

The order covers more than 40 awards to researchers around the country seeking to understand why vaccine acceptance has declined.

March 12, 2025. Based on internal mails available to it, the Washington Post reported Monday, that the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) will cancel or cut back more than 40 grants for studies on why some people are reluctant to be vaccinated and how to increase acceptance of vaccines.

According to the emails, the grants are being terminated or cut effective Monday, March 10, 2025 at the direction of  Michelle Bulls, Director of the Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration, NIH,  because “it has been determined they do not align with NIH funding priorities related to vaccine hesitancy and/or uptake.”

Michelle’s email  did not specify where the order originated, but it requested specific language that the termination notice should contain: “It is the policy of NIH 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. … Therefore, the award is terminated.”

Although it's unclear if Robert F. Kennedy Jr (RFK Jr)., the new secretary of NIH’s supervisory agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, played a direct or indirect role in the decision, his appointment has unsettled the medical research community.

RFK Kr., has drawn widespread condemnation from the scientific community in the US and globally as he disparaged vaccines for years while gaining notoriety by promoting misinformation about vaccines and an unverified link to autism that has been debunked.

The Washington Post reports that spokespeople at NIH and HHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Some experts have argued that it is an inauspicious time to be canceling research into vaccine hesitancy, as more than 200 cases of measles in 12 US states and two deaths from the disease have been reported this year alone.

Measles vaccination rates have declined among kindergartners in the United States since 2019. Although states and the District of  Columbia require measles vaccinations for schoolchildren, but more parents are requesting exemptions, citing medical, religious or philosophical reasons, the Washington Post reports.

Manoj Sharma, a researcher at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas who had a CDC grant that ended last year to evaluate vaccine hesitancy, told The Post  that the current measles outbreak underscores the importance of continued research into vaccine hesitancy and acceptance strategies.

“There is an urgent need to enhance vaccine acceptance behavior, especially due to the potential resurgence of measles and COVID-19 still looming,” said Sharma.

Delesha Carpenter, another researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has spent three years studying COVID vaccine hesitancy through a previous NIH grant, fears the termination of research will limit efforts to provide the public with reliable vaccine information.

“If we take away research on vaccine hesitancy, we’re also going to be taking away the ability to provide people with the best information about whether the vaccine is in their best interest,” Carpenter said. “They still have the decision to make.”

Michael Bronstein, an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said he’s yet to learn if his grant from the National Institute of Mental Health has been affected or not.  

“From a public health perspective, preventing people from dying should be a government goal,” he said. “Vaccine hesitancy is one barrier to that.”

Source: The Washington Post

Related: Expertise and Credibility Matter in Public Health Leadership

About the US National Institute of Health

The US National Institute of Health (NIH), is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. It is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the world’s largest sponsor of biomedical research - making important discoveries that improve health and save lives, according to its website.

Published: March 12, 2025

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