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Kennedy’s $5B NIH Vaccine-Autism Funding Blocked

7/16/2026

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Story summary
  • A $5 billion request to repurpose NIH funds for a discredited vaccine-autism study was blocked, averting diversion of public health resources.
  • U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked Jay Bhattacharya to shift $5 billion to vaccine-autism research, which was rejected.
  • President Donald Trump repeatedly asked Kennedy about new vaccine-autism evidence, which Kennedy took as encouragement.
  • Dr. Paul Offit says Kennedy’s anti-vaccine stance has driven the largest measles surge in three decades.