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RNA vaccine funding cuts threaten decades of scientific progress
Laine Bergeson
Today at 8:38 a.m.
COVID-19
Public Health
Anti-science Federal investment in RNA vaccine research has supported nearly three decades of scientific work spanning infectious diseases, cancer, and vaccine development, but recent and proposed funding cuts threaten to stall that progress, according to a cross-sectional study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.
Led by a team at Northwestern University, researchers identified 178 active National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants related to RNA vaccines from 1997 through 2025. Together, the grants represented $1.65 billion in funding.
Many grants focused on viral vaccines (42%), including those for COVID, HIV, and highly contagious tropical diseases, while substantial investment also supported RNA technology and cancer research. Overall, the grants produced 2,342 publications and nearly 150,000 citations, highlighting what the authors describe as clear clinical impact.
RNA tech ‘could impact virtually every aspect of human health’
“The grants we analyzed have resulted in strong scientific output,” the researchers write. “The clinical impact of this work was apparent, with 10% of publications classified as [sic] and 35% being cited in clinical trials or practice guidelines.”
What’s more, 18 grants were awarded through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program, underscoring how RNA funding supports biotech entrepreneurship.
“Our study showed that RNA technology could impact virtually every aspect of human health, from debilitating chronic diseases to conditions even thought incurable,” lead author Anirudha S. Chandrabhatla, MD, said in a UVA Health press release.
In an accompanying commentary, Alyson Ann Kelvin, PhD, a veterinary medicine faculty member at the University of Calgary, and Angela Rasmussen, PhD, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan, place the findings in the context of mounting political and public scrutiny of RNA technology.
They note that, as antivaccine sentiment continues to rise, approximately $500 million in RNA vaccine funding has been targeted for cuts in 2025.
Huge benefit of mRNA COVID vaccines
The commentary highlights one notable accomplishment of NIH-supported RNA research—the rapid development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, most notably, those produced using mRNA technology. COVID vaccination is estimated to have saved millions of lives globally, with one study estimating 18 million lives saved in the first year of its rollout. COVID vaccination overall was also associated with a 60% reduction in the pandemic’s financial burden.
Beyond COVID, the commentators emphasize the “flexible plug-and-play” nature of RNA technology, which can be adapted to emerging infectious diseases, drug resistance, shifting herd immunity, and even personalized cancer therapy. They point to cancer as a major frontier, noting the more than 2 million new US cancer diagnoses annually and the potential for relatively low-cost RNA vaccines to offset part of the roughly $200 billion annual financial burden of cancer care.
Funding cuts have also affected work on RNA influenza vaccines, which could enable faster strain matching and potentially prevent thousands of flu-related hospitalizations and deaths. The setback comes during a particularly severe flu season, with the current vaccine poorly matched to the dominant circulating strain.
“Excising RNA vaccine research from the NIH research portfolio is antithetical to current goals of making America healthy,” Kelvin and Rasmussen conclude, warning that decisions made now could shape the nation’s readiness for future pandemics and advances in cancer care. “Defunding RNA vaccine research or vaccine research in general forfeits any possible return on US taxpayer investments in vaccine technology that has saved millions of lives and has the potential to save millions more.”
RNA vaccine funding cuts threaten decades of scientific progress
Laine Bergeson
Today at 8:38 a.m.
COVID-19
Public Health
Anti-science Federal investment in RNA vaccine research has supported nearly three decades of scientific work spanning infectious diseases, cancer, and vaccine development, but recent and proposed funding cuts threaten to stall that progress, according to a cross-sectional study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.
Led by a team at Northwestern University, researchers identified 178 active National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants related to RNA vaccines from 1997 through 2025. Together, the grants represented $1.65 billion in funding.
Many grants focused on viral vaccines (42%), including those for COVID, HIV, and highly contagious tropical diseases, while substantial investment also supported RNA technology and cancer research. Overall, the grants produced 2,342 publications and nearly 150,000 citations, highlighting what the authors describe as clear clinical impact.
RNA tech ‘could impact virtually every aspect of human health’
“The grants we analyzed have resulted in strong scientific output,” the researchers write. “The clinical impact of this work was apparent, with 10% of publications classified as [sic] and 35% being cited in clinical trials or practice guidelines.”
What’s more, 18 grants were awarded through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program, underscoring how RNA funding supports biotech entrepreneurship.
“Our study showed that RNA technology could impact virtually every aspect of human health, from debilitating chronic diseases to conditions even thought incurable,” lead author Anirudha S. Chandrabhatla, MD, said in a UVA Health press release.
In an accompanying commentary, Alyson Ann Kelvin, PhD, a veterinary medicine faculty member at the University of Calgary, and Angela Rasmussen, PhD, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan, place the findings in the context of mounting political and public scrutiny of RNA technology.
They note that, as antivaccine sentiment continues to rise, approximately $500 million in RNA vaccine funding has been targeted for cuts in 2025.
Huge benefit of mRNA COVID vaccines
The commentary highlights one notable accomplishment of NIH-supported RNA research—the rapid development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, most notably, those produced using mRNA technology. COVID vaccination is estimated to have saved millions of lives globally, with one study estimating 18 million lives saved in the first year of its rollout. COVID vaccination overall was also associated with a 60% reduction in the pandemic’s financial burden.
Beyond COVID, the commentators emphasize the “flexible plug-and-play” nature of RNA technology, which can be adapted to emerging infectious diseases, drug resistance, shifting herd immunity, and even personalized cancer therapy. They point to cancer as a major frontier, noting the more than 2 million new US cancer diagnoses annually and the potential for relatively low-cost RNA vaccines to offset part of the roughly $200 billion annual financial burden of cancer care.
Funding cuts have also affected work on RNA influenza vaccines, which could enable faster strain matching and potentially prevent thousands of flu-related hospitalizations and deaths. The setback comes during a particularly severe flu season, with the current vaccine poorly matched to the dominant circulating strain.
“Excising RNA vaccine research from the NIH research portfolio is antithetical to current goals of making America healthy,” Kelvin and Rasmussen conclude, warning that decisions made now could shape the nation’s readiness for future pandemics and advances in cancer care. “Defunding RNA vaccine research or vaccine research in general forfeits any possible return on US taxpayer investments in vaccine technology that has saved millions of lives and has the potential to save millions more.”