How RFK Jr. could revive a dormant vaccine safety board

When Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) signaled last week that he'd vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary, he said the nominee made a number of commitments to him. One promise: That he'd let the Senate HELP chair and physician choose a representative on "any board or commission" formed to review vaccine safety. What would that board be?

The answer could lie in a nearly four-decade old law that's long held RFK Jr.'s interest. The statute created a task force to make childhood vaccines safer, made up of key U.S. health officials. The group issued its final report in 1998, and has been defunct ever since.

RFK Jr. could easily resurrect the task force as HHS secretary and direct a new set of goals. Some of his advisers have alleged the group never did its job anyway. More from me and Rachel Cohrs Zhang (in her final missive for STAT!).

research funding

The fallout from slashed NIH funding continues

News on Friday that the Trump administration planned to cut the amount of overhead funding included in NIH grants unleashed a torrent of concern and warnings that programs could be hobbled or shutter. On Monday, 22 states sued to stop the order, arguing the action would trigger layoffs, suspension of clinical trials, and disruption of lab programs. A judge soon issued a temporary restraining order.

Several Republican senators also sounded the alarm. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (Maine) registered her opposition in a Monday statement, saying that she'd heard from multiple of her state's medical centers that the caps would be "devastating" and stop vital research. Collins added that she called RFK Jr. and he promised to "re-examine" the initiative once confirmed in his post.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.), said he heard "loud and clear" from researchers in his state of Louisiana that they would suffer from the funding cuts.

Sen. Katie Britt (Ala.) also vowed over the weekend to work with RFK Jr. on the initiative, telling AL.com the administration needed a "smart, targeted approach" that wouldn't hinder research. More from John Wilkerson on GOP senators' reaction.

What it means: The order issued by the acting NIH director takes aim at indirect costs — administrative, facility, and other expenses not directly linked to the goals of a scientific project. It notes that a quarter of the agency's grant expenses go to these costs. The new action would cap the rate of support for these expenses at 15% for both new and existing grants. The hit is particularly severe for elite research universities, which receive indirect cost rates of 50% or more.

What is happening: University research directors say the order will cause furloughs and hiring freezes, to start. Campuses including Stanford and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center projected annual losses of $100 million or more.

in the courts

Judge pauses federal buyout order indefinitely

A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday re-paused the so-called "fork in the road" directive from the Trump administration, further pushing back a deadline for federal workers to accept DOGE-directed buyouts.

Judge George O'Toole last week paused the order for a few days, hours before workers' end-of-Thursday deadline to decide. That gave him some time to hear from the administration and workers' unions. He extended that again Monday, writing that the restraining order will remain in effect until he decides if the order should be paused throughout future legal proceedings.

The original directive, emailed across federal agencies last month, said federal workers who accepted the terms would be paid through September.

health data

Genetic databases in potential peril

As the Trump administration revises government websites and disappears databases — at least temporarily — some scientists are expressing concerns about the safety and integrity of resources researchers around the world use daily: genetic sequence information.

There's two tools, in particular they're keeping their eyes on, STAT's Helen Branswell reports: GenBank, the world's largest repository of full genetic sequences, and the Sequence Read Archive, which comprises raw unassembled genetic sequence data.

Until recently, few would have worried they'd ever be in jeopardy.

But the Trump administration has signaled radical change is on the way, and Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service is hunting for more cost savings. More from Helen.

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What we're reading

NIH scraps program to diversify the biomedical workforce, a longtime goal of science, STAT
Trump administration cuts to health research is 'an attack on Massachusetts', The Boston Globe
Trump administration allows some global aid to restart, but concerns remain on impact of USAID shutdown, STAT
GOP fight over Medicaid cuts stalls Trump agenda in the House as Senate forges ahead, CNN