US EditionTrump team’s $500 million bet on old vaccine technology puzzles scientists
- The Trump administration awarded a $500 million grant on May 1, 2025, to develop a broadly protective flu vaccine using older technology at NIH in the U.S.
- This decision shifted funds from a $1.3 billion pandemic preparedness fund, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., raising questions about its scientific basis and timing.
- The vaccine project, led by Jeffery Taubenberger and Matthew Memoli, is in early stages with limited published data from a 45-patient safety trial showing no major side effects.
- Experts criticized focusing vast resources on one old-technology vaccine, calling it risky and not next-generation, and questioned the lack of transparency despite official claims of "Generation Gold Standard."
- The grant's implications include concern about de-emphasizing advanced COVID-19 efforts and potential setbacks in vaccine innovation amid ongoing NIH cuts and funding shifts.
39 Articles
39 Articles
News Medical
Trump team’s $500 million bet on old vaccine technology puzzles scientists
The Trump administration's unprecedented $500 million grant for a broadly protective flu shot has confounded vaccine and pandemic preparedness experts, who said the project was in early stages, relied on old technology, and was just one of more than 200 such efforts.
'It’s mind-blowing': Scientists puzzled by Trump team’s $500 million bet on old technology
The Trump administration’s unprecedented $500 million grant for a broadly protective flu shot has confounded vaccine and pandemic preparedness experts, who said the project was in early stages, relied on old technology, and was just one of more than 200 such efforts.Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shifted the money from a pandemic preparedness fund to a vaccine development program led by two scientists whom the administ…
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littlebytesnews.comTrump Team’s $500 Million Bet on Old Vaccine Technology Puzzles Scientists
The Trump administration’s unprecedented $500 million grant for a broadly protective flu shot has confounded vaccine and pandemic preparedness experts, who said the project was in early stages, relied on old technology, and was just one of more than 200 such efforts. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shifted the money from a pandemic preparedness fund to a vaccine development program led by two scientists whom the adminis…
Trump Team’s $500 Million Bet on Old Vaccine Technology Puzzles Scientists - Scientific Inquirer
The Trump administration’s unprecedented $500 million grant for a broadly protective flu shot has confounded vaccine and pandemic preparedness experts, who said the project was in early stages, relied on old technology, and was just one of more than 200 such efforts. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shifted the money from a pandemic preparedness fund to a vaccine development program led by two scientists whom the adminis…
HHS, NIH Launch $500 Million Project to Develop Universal Vaccines to Protect Against ‘Pandemic-Prone’ Viruses
By Brenda Baletti, Ph.D. | The Defender | May 1, 2025 The Trump administration is investing $500 million into research that will use an existing, traditional vaccine technology to develop vaccines that protect against multiple strains of “pandemic-prone viruses,” according to a joint press release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The investment will fund in-house development…
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