Skip to content
The Cost

Topic

Health & Science

Public health, vaccine policy, research funding, and the science agencies - decisions traced to their documented impact on care, coverage, and American research.

decisions
20
severe or critical
10
sources cited
94

All health & science decisions, newest first

  1. Order trims universal child vaccines to 11 diseases

    An August 2026 executive order re-asserts schedule cuts a federal judge had blocked and calls for splitting the MMR shot into three.

  2. The CDC's global HIV awards, set to lapse

    As the State Department takes more control of PEPFAR, ~120 CDC HIV awards serving a reported 8.7M+ patients were set to expire in September 2026.

  3. CDC downgrades 6 childhood vaccine recommendations

    After a presidential directive, routine recommendations fell from 17 diseases to 11; a court blocked it.

  4. White House pushes Tylenol-autism claim

    Trump and RFK Jr. told pregnant women to stop using acetaminophen, contradicting major medical bodies.

  5. CDC director ousted, deputies quit

    Susan Monarez was removed weeks after confirmation after, she testified, refusing to pre-approve RFK Jr.'s vaccine panel recommendations.

  6. HHS cancels $500M BARDA mRNA contracts

    Terminating mRNA contracts undercut pandemic preparedness while H5N1 remains an active threat.

  7. Largest SNAP cut in history: ~$186 billion

    Expanded work requirements and a first-ever state cost-share shrink food assistance for millions.

  8. Reconciliation law projects leaving 10M uninsured

    The largest Medicaid cut in history imposes work requirements and eligibility redeterminations.

  9. RFK Jr. fires 17 ACIP advisors

    Replacements made hepatitis B birth dose optional before courts reversed their actions.

  10. Routine COVID shot advice dropped for kids, pregnancy

    A secretarial directive bypassed the advisory-committee process before a court restored the prior schedule.

  11. MAHA report cites fake studies

    RFK Jr.'s flagship child-health report cited studies that do not exist, with AI-hallucination hallmarks.

  12. CDC lead program cut during crisis

    HHS eliminated the CDC's childhood lead program and declined Milwaukee's request for help, then reinstated the team two months later.

  13. HHS cuts gut mine-safety research

    Roughly two-thirds of NIOSH was laid off, halting black-lung surveillance for coal miners.

  14. FDA loses leadership and top reviewers

    After February layoffs left reviewers with doubled workloads, HHS announced 3,500 more FDA job cuts.

  15. HHS eliminates 10,000 health agency positions

    Simultaneous cuts to FDA, CDC, NIH, and CMS disrupted drug reviews and disease surveillance.

  16. Signs of a US scientific brain drain

    75% of US scientists answering a Nature poll said they were considering leaving; the EU allocated €500M to recruit them.

  17. NIH terminates 2,291 active research grants

    The mass grant cancellation disrupted 383 clinical trials with more than 74,000 enrolled participants.

  18. CDC cuts ~1,300 in DOGE wave

    About 1,300 CDC staff, mostly probationary, were cut on February 14, 2025, ahead of deeper April program eliminations.

  19. NIH indirect-cost cap blocked by courts

    A flat overhead cap that would have cut an estimated $5.2B a year from university research was permanently enjoined.

  20. Worst US measles outbreak since 2000

    More than 5,900 cases across 2025-2026 put measles-elimination status at risk for the first time since 2000.