Research paralysis has grown despite assurances

Despite assurances from NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya that he would disburse the agency's congressionally appropriated funding, a STAT analysis shows that the NIH has failed to recover from a post-Trump freeze on grants. The gap in extramural grant disbursements has nearly doubled in two months — and now lags by $4.7 billion.

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Noncompetitive renewals, once routine lifelines for ongoing research, are drying up amid chaotic staffing cuts, new oversight by a federal task force, and a rushed pivot to multi-year awards, STAT's Megan Molteni and J. Emory Parker report. With only three months left in the fiscal year, universities are halting projects, laying off staff, and bracing for the possibility that a chunk of the NIH's $47 billion budget will vanish back into Treasury coffers.

vaccines

New CDC panel targets thimerosal in flu shots

In a striking break from scientific consensus, a newly named CDC advisory panel recommended against the use of thimerosal-containing flu vaccines yesterday, citing safety concerns long debunked by decades of research.

"If you can safely prevent a disease that causes suffering and hospitalization and death, then prevent it. Because there's nothing worse than the loss of a child," Paul Offit, a former member of the panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and a strong proponent of vaccines, told STAT's Helen Branswell. "I just found that surprisingly and depressingly cavalier."

The move, while largely symbolic given thimerosal's minimal use in U.S. flu vaccines, signals health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s intent to cement long-dismissed anti-vaccine talking points into U.S. national policy, STAT's Jason Mast notes.

vaccine

Merck's RSV shot clears key advisory hurdle

In a 5-2 vote, the ACIP also recommended Merck's monoclonal antibody Enflonsia for babies under eight months heading into their first RSV season, despite pushback from members with limited vaccine expertise and concerns over trial data.

"These are truly remarkable products. They are safe and they are effective," insisted Cody Meissner, the sole pediatrician on the panel.

Enflonsia, approved earlier this month, joins Sanofi and AstraZeneca's Beyfortus in the RSV arsenal, showing over 60% efficacy in preventing medically attended infections and 84% in reducing hospitalizations.

podcast

Vaccine policy frays, and a CDC nominee in the hotseat

What does the fracturing of vaccine advice and policy mean for the U.S. health care ecosystem? Will the potential head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stand up to her boss? And can Amgen overcome its obesity drug's side effects? We discuss all that and more on this on this week's episode of "The Readout LOUD," STAT's biotech podcast.

We invite Helen Branswell, STAT's senior writer for infectious diseases, and Washington correspondent Chelsea Cirruzzo on to the podcast to discuss the latest news at the CDC. The agency is in the spotlight once again, after the Senate grilled the potential head of the agency at a confirmation hearing and its federal vaccine advisory committee met for the first time after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired its existing 17 members and installed a new, smaller panel.

We also discuss the latest news in the life sciences, including data presented at last weekend's American Diabetes Association research meeting. We also squeeze in some conversation about summer blockbusters. (Check out Adam's "Jaws" Lego set here).

Listen here.

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