President Donald Trump’s National Institutes of Health director says some employees’ critical letter to him has “fundamental misconceptions about the policy directions the NIH has taken.”.

A draft budget proposal circulating among federal officials would dramatically deepen cuts at the nation’s top health agency, eliminating some public health programs entirely and serving as a roadmap for more mass firings.

A federal panel of experts on Wednesday recommended an expansion of RSV vaccinations for adults and a new combination shot as another option to protect teens against meningitis.

A group of scientists and health groups sued the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday, arguing that an “ideological purge” of research funding is illegal and threatens medical cures.

Thousands of people at the nation’s top health agencies were laid off Tuesday.

Employees across the massive U.S. Health and Human Services Department received notices Tuesday that their jobs were being eliminated, part of a sweeping overhaul designed to vastly shrink the agencies responsible for protecting and promoting Americans’ health.

A surge of grant cancellations hit researchers focused on the health of gay, lesbian and transgender people last week, as the Trump administration continues to target what it describes as ideologically driven science.

Reductions to federal support for research at universities and other institutions under President Donald Trump are dimming young scientists’ prospects, cutting off pathways to career-building projects and graduate programs.

A National Institutes of Health study aims to find out whether ultraprocessed foods lead people to eat more.

The Trump administration is canceling studies about ways to improve vaccine trust and access.

Facing the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding, Duke University is preparing for the worst.

Ripple effects of the Trump administration's crackdown on U.S. medical research promise to reach every corner of America.

A federal judge is preventing the Trump administration from drastically cutting medical research funding.

President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health is promising to help restore trust in medical research.

Dr. Francis Collins, a renowned geneticist, and former longtime director of the National Institutes of Health, is retiring from the government agency and urging “respect” for its embattled workers.

A federal judge is continuing to block the Trump administration’s drastic cuts in medical research funding.

About 300 protesters rallied outside the headquarters of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Department of Health and Human Services officials expected most of the agency’s roughly 5,200 probationary employees to be fired.

A U.S. district court judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s effort to cap medical research after attorneys general from 22 states filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the plan.

President Donald Trump’s order declaring diversity, equity and inclusion policies illegal has thrown into doubt the future of research Kendra Dahmer has been doing on intestinal parasites in India and Benin.

A study shows blood tests that check for fetal disorders can sometimes hint at cancer in pregnant women.

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health.

Nearly two dozen retired research chimpanzees will be relocated from New Mexico to a sanctuary in Louisiana.

A National Institutes of Health investigation has found research misconduct by a top neuroscientist.

Federal health officials are strengthening their endorsement of RSV vaccinations for people 75 and older.

Reports of a rare nervous system disorder are “more common than expected” in older U.S. adults who got the new RSV vaccines.

An array of advanced tests found no brain injuries or degeneration among U_S_ diplomats who suffer mysterious health problems once dubbed “Havana syndrome.”.

Health officials are investigating whether there's a link between two new RSV vaccines and cases of a rare nervous system disorder.

A clinical trial by the National Institutes of Health could provide a breakthrough treatment for food allergies.

Women are far more likely than men to get autoimmune diseases, illnesses like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis that occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks their own bodies.

According to the National Institutes of Health, one-in-three Americans suffer from neck pain every year, women more often than men.

A study by the National Institutes of Health suggests that adults with obesity may benefit from an advanced form of breathing support when they’re admitted to the I.C.U. for respiratory failure.

Americans 60 and older can get a new RSV vaccine but should discuss it with their doctor first.

President Joe Biden has tapped a cancer specialist to become director of the National Institutes of Health.

A National Institutes of Health study has found that although 94% of Americans aged 12 and older have good vision, the remaining six percent, or 14 million, are visually impaired or blind.

Scientists at University of Florida Health are launching a study into a rare disorder thanks to funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Thousands of Americans who shared their DNA for science are about to learn if they have some particularly worrisome genes.

The U.S. government will soon spend $25 million to help patients access experimental drugs for the incurable illness known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

A study by the National Institutes of Health revealed a link with common chemicals that could put pregnancy at risk.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, says he plans to retire by the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January 2025.

Researchers with the National Institutes of Health have uncovered a new genetic eye disease.

According to the National Institutes of Health, about 11% of women of reproductive age in the U.S. have experienced fertility problems.

Some cancer patients can safely skip radiation or chemotherapy after surgery.

Scientists are getting their first peek at the genes of nearly 100,000 Americans in what's considered a uniquely diverse genomic database.

Neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson, who leads the Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Program at Florida Atlantic University, said neuro-inflammation can occur decades before the symptoms of the disease are noticeable.

President Joe Biden is replacing a top science adviser who resigned under a cloud with two individuals who will split his positions on an interim basis.

A U.S. health official suggests there may never be a test to measure whether someone who had COVID-19 is still infectious.

The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis S.

The U.S. government scientist who helped design one of the first COVID-19 vaccines and then tackled skepticism of the shots in communities of color is getting a new research home.

Researchers with the National Institutes of Health are zoning in on a potential target for an aggressive and dangerous form of cancer.

FILE - This July 2020 photo provided by Johnson & Johnson shows a vial of the COVID-19 vaccine in Belgium. The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021 cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two. (Johnson & Johnson via AP, File)WASHINGTON – The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two. Like other COVID-19 vaccines, the main side effects of the J&J shot are pain at the injection site and flu-like fever, fatigue and headache. All COVID-19 vaccines train the body to recognize the new coronavirus, usually by spotting the spikey protein that coats it.

From left, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients, Burn, registered nurse Elizabeth Galloway, and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci. On Thursday, Biden marked the administration of the 50 millionth dose of COVID-19 vaccine since his swearing-in. “We’re halfway there: 50 million shots in 37 days," Biden said. “We’ll have the vaccine waiting,” Biden said, predicting that point could come within 60 to 90 days. Ad“We have a plan to roll it out as quickly as Johnson & Johnson can make it," Biden said.

A federal judge late Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, indefinitely banned President Joe Biden's administration from enforcing a 100-day moratorium on most deportations. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)HOUSTON – A federal judge late Tuesday indefinitely banned President Joe Biden's administration from enforcing a 100-day moratorium on most deportations. Biden proposed the 100-day pause on deportations during his campaign as part of a larger review of immigration enforcement and an attempt to reverse the priorities of former President Donald Trump. Even without a moratorium, immigration agencies have wide latitude in enforcing removals and processing cases. AdIt was not immediately clear if the Biden administration will appeal Tipton's latest ruling.

WESTON, Fla. – Researchers at the National Institutes of Health are expressing optimism about an Italian study into a new treatment option for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD. “This is what’s called an exploratory study to see if this could be helpful. It really wasn’t powered to find out if those patients had a mortality benefit or if they ended up on a ventilator or not, it just was a proof of function study,” Gurevich said. AdIn all three studies, drinking decaffeinated coffee appeared to have the opposite effect on heart failure risk. Coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke are among the top causes of death from heart disease in the U.S.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden wants to raise refugee admissions to 62,500 for the current budget year, overriding former President Donald Trump’s record-low limit of 15,000, a U.S. official and others said Thursday. Trump set the ceiling on refugee admissions in October when the 2021 budget year started, and it runs until September 30. Biden's proposal of 62,500 would replace that, and the president has already announced plans to raise admissions to twice that amount in 2022. Trump targeted the refugee program under his anti-immigration policies, dropping admissions yearly until they reached a record low of 15,000. Biden, who co-sponsored legislation creating the refugee program in 1980, has said reopening the doors to refugees is “how we will restore the soul of our nation.”Ad___Watson reported from San Diego.

President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Bethesda, Md. – President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. will have enough supply of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans. He toured the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory that created the COVID-19 vaccine now manufactured by Moderna and being rolled out in the U.S. and other countries. The U.S. is on pace to exceed Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office, with more than 26 million shots delivered in his first three weeks. On the tour, Biden was shown the lab bench where researchers sequenced the virus and developed the precursor of the Moderna vaccine.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks after receiving her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the National Institutes of Health, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, marking her first call to a foreign leader since entering the White House. The detained Canadians are a top priority for Trudeau, and Canada has pushed Washington to apply pressure on Beijing to release them. AdA senior official familiar with the call said Harris proactively brought up the two detained Canadians herself — something that was appreciated by Trudeau and Canadian officials. Canada has traditionally been the first foreign stop for new U.S. presidents, and Biden's first call to a foreign leader was to Trudeau, made the Friday after he was sworn in.

WESTON, Fla. – The National Institutes of Health is now launching a database to track neurological symptoms associated with COVID-19 with the hopes of gaining greater understanding about the impact of the virus on the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles. He said a nationwide, or possibly a worldwide database to track the neurological effects of COVID-19 can open the door for better treatment options for patients in the future. AdAnd while pregnant women appear to produce a robust antibody response to COVID-19, a recent study found that their babies may not benefit as much as expected. Researchers were surprised by the findings because antibody transfer rates are higher with other viral infections. The study investigators are now expanding their protocols to included vaccinated pregnant patients.

Past studies have shown that women who go through menopause before the age of 45 have an increased risk of early death, cognitive decline, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

FILE - In this Dec. 22, 2020, file photo Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, prepares to receive his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. Dr. Anthony Fauci endorsed the decision of U.S. officials to require negative COVID-19 tests before letting people from Britain enter the U.S. He declined to weigh in on whether that step should have been taken sooner. He said the variant strain is something “to follow very carefully” and “we’re looking at it very intensively now.”He said: “Does it make someone more ill? Fauci spoke on CNN's “State of the Union.”

Senior Airman Marisol Salgado, medical technician, administers a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Army Capt. Parrish was the first BAMC staff member to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA’s main messages:--Both the new Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech shot require two doses several weeks apart. --In a study of 30,000 volunteers, the Moderna vaccine was more than 94% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in people 18 and older. --Moderna’s study turned up no severe allergic reactions, like the handful reported with the Pfizer-BioNTech shots in Britain and Alaska.

The U.S. is poised to give the green light as early as Friday, Dec. 18, to a second COVID-19 vaccine, a critical new weapon against the surging coronavirus. FDA’s decision could help pave the way for other countries that are considering the Moderna vaccine, the first-ever regulatory clearance for the small Cambridge, Massachusetts, company. The FDA’s main messages:--Both the new Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech shot require two doses several weeks apart. --In a study of 30,000 volunteers, the Moderna vaccine was more than 94% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in people 18 and older. But there was a hint that Moderna’s shot might provide some protection against asymptomatic infection.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks at a drive-in rally for Georgia Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON – The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):7:55 p.m.President-elect Joe Biden has formally announced former rival Pete Buttigieg as his pick to be secretary of transportation. ___1:30 p.m.President-elect Joe Biden says he’s spoken with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after the Electoral College affirmed his victory Monday. ___8:40 a.m.Two foreign leaders who had not congratulated President-elect Joe Biden have now done so. ___7:30 a.m.Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris should be vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible.

Nurse Melissa Valentin shows a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be applied to medical personnel at the Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Packed in dry ice, shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine began arriving Tuesday at more than 400 additional hospitals and other distribution sites. That projection assumes swift authorization of the Moderna vaccine, which also requires two shots for full protection. Elsewhere around the world, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is being given in Britain and Canada. The Moderna vaccine was more than 94% effective overall at preventing COVID-19 illness, and 86% effective in people 65 and older.

How could scientists race out COVID-19 vaccines so fast without cutting corners? A head start helped -- over a decade of behind-the-scenes research that had new vaccine technology poised for a challenge just as the coronavirus erupted. Both shots -- one made by Pfizer and BioNTech, the other by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health -- are so-called messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines, a brand-new technology. U.S. regulators are set to decide this month whether to allow emergency use, paving the way for rationed shots that will start with health workers and nursing home residents. Traditionally, making vaccines required growing viruses or pieces of viruses — often in giant vats of cells or, like most flu shots, in chicken eggs — and then purifying them before next steps in brewing shots.

Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from an ongoing study. Moderna’s vaccine is being studied in 30,000 volunteers who received either the real thing or a dummy shot. Earlier this year, Fauci said he would be happy with a COVID-19 vaccine that was 60% effective. Moderna’s vaccine also starts off frozen, but the company said Monday it can be thawed and kept in a regular refrigerator for 30 days, easing that concern. Both Moderna's shots and the Pfizer-BioNTech candidate are so-called mRNA vaccines, a brand-new technology.

(AP Photo/Hans Pennink)BOSTON – Microsoft said it has detected attempts by state-backed Russian and North Korean hackers to steal valuable data from leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers. Chinese state-backed hackers have also been targeting vaccine-makers, the U.S. government said in July while announcing criminal charges. Two others were North Korea’s Lazarus Group and a group Microsoft calls Cerium. The Lazarus Group posed as job recruiters while Cerium targeted spear-phishing emails that masqueraded as missives from World Health Organization representatives, Microsoft said. Optimism about a COVID-19 vaccine has grown since pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced earlier this week that preliminary data showed its vaccine to be 90% effective.

___5:30 p.m.Joe Biden is denouncing disruptive demonstrations by supporters of President Donald Trump across the country. Trump tweeted a video of the caravan and declared, “I LOVE TEXAS!” Biden also referenced reports that Trump supporters shut down a major roadway in New Jersey. ___12:25 p.m.Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris says Black voters are critical to defeating President Donald Trump and electing Joe Biden president. ___11:55 a.m.President Donald Trump is braving flurries and a stiff wind chill as he rallies thousands of supporters in Michigan. Biden’s return to Philadelphia underscores the significance of Pennsylvania, the Rust Belt state that helped deliver President Donald Trump the White House four years ago.

While the majority of these cases can be corrected with standard glasses and contacts, those options don’t help people with more complicated vision issues. Around the age of 12, Brendan O’Donnell started wearing glasses, then contacts, for basic vision correction. Standard glasses and contacts are ineffective in restoring vision but Bascome is now able to help patients with a custom-molded scleral lens. These custom molded lenses can also help people with vision loss caused by scarring, trauma to the eye and severe astigmatism. These special lenses can cost several thousand dollars but much of that cost can be off-set as medically necessary under vision insurance plans.

WASHINGTON – A high-ranking government whistleblower who alleges the Trump administration fumbled its coronavirus response resigned Tuesday, saying he has been forced out. Attorneys Debra Katz and Lisa Banks said NIH superiors ignored a national coronavirus testing strategy that Bright developed because he had become politically toxic within the Trump administration. The Food and Drug Administration ultimately revoked emergency authority for using the malaria drug to treat coronavirus patients. Trump, infected with the coronavirus and hospitalized over the weekend, is now back at the White House. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge.” He says he plans to return to the campaign trail.

In the new guidelines posted on its website, the FDA said vaccine makers should follow trial participants for at least two months to rule out any major side effects before seeking emergency approval. That standard had been a sticking point between the FDA and White House officials, who said it could unreasonably delay the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. On Monday Trump said vaccines are coming “momentarily,” in a video recorded after he returned to the White House. The White House attempt to block the guidance followed a string of instances in which the Trump administration has undercut its own medical experts working to combat the pandemic. Beyond exposing the rift between the White House and FDA, the delay in releasing the guidelines may have had limited practical effect.

“We are working with partners to understand how we might collaborate on the potential development of a COVID-19 vaccine through human challenge studies,” the U.K. Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy said in a prepared statement. Those preliminary steps include examining the ethics of a challenge study, and funding research to create lab-grown virus strains that potentially could be used. The Financial Times newspaper reported Wednesday that the government planned to sponsor a challenge study that is set to begin in January. He told the BBC that there was a “long history” of challenge studies and that the risk to young and healthy people is low. In May, the World Health Organization issued a report on the ethical considerations for conducting a challenge study.

President Donald Trump is pushing for a faster timeline, which many experts say is risky and may not allow for adequate testing. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn pledged that career scientists, not politicians, will decide whether any coronavirus vaccine meets clearly stated standards that it works and is safe. In one of the largest studies yet, Johnson & Johnson aims to enroll 60,000 volunteers to test its single-dose approach in the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. J&J’s vaccine is made with slightly different technology than others in late-stage testing, modeled on an Ebola vaccine the company created. Going forward, “we need uniformity throughout the country.”In a testy exchange, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky insisted public health officials were wrong that a lockdown could change the course of the pandemic.

Final-stage testing of the vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., began with volunteers at various U.S. sites given either a real shot or a dummy without being told which. In Washington, the White House disclosed that national security adviser Robert OBrien has the coronavirus the highest-ranking U.S. official to test positive so far. In Binghamton, New York, nurse Melissa Harting received one of the first injections of the Moderna vaccine candidate. But the U.S. requires its own tests of any vaccine that might be used in the country. Every month through the fall, the government-funded COVID-19 Prevention Network will roll out a new study of a leading candidate, each with 30,000 volunteers, to test not only whether the shots work but whether they are safe.

Many scientists dont expect a coronavirus vaccine to be nearly as protective as the measles shot. If the best COVID-19 vaccine is only 50% effective, "thats still to me a great vaccine, said Dr. Drew Weissman of the University of Pennsylvania. About 15 experimental COVID-19 vaccines are in various stages of human studies worldwide. Nothing is going to be easy.The Oxford shot, with a 10,000-person study underway in England, already encountered that hurdle. EXPECT IMPERFECT PROTECTIONAnimal research suggests COVID-19 vaccines could prevent serious disease but may not completely block infection.

With far fewer COVID-19 cases in China, Sinovac Biotech turned to Brazil, the epicenter of Latin America's outbreak, for at least part of its final testing. The government of So Paulo announced Thursday that Sinovac will ship enough of its experimental vaccine to test in 9,000 Brazilians starting next month. Worldwide, about a dozen COVID-19 potential vaccines are in early stages of testing. There's no guarantee any of the experimental shots will pan out. Even before proof that any potential vaccine will work, companies and governments are beginning to stockpile millions of doses so they can be ready to start vaccinating as soon as answers arrive.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed a $484 billion bill Friday to aid employers and hospitals under stress from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 50,000 Americans and devastated broad swaths of the economy. Trump said most of the funding in the bill would flow to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides money to small businesses to keep workers on their payroll. “Great for small businesses, great for the workers,” Trump said. There’s also $60 billion for small-business loans and grants delivered through the Small Business Administration’s existing disaster aid program. That left thousands of small businesses in limbo as they sought help.

The Dog Aging Project hopes to change that. All together, it will be the largest-ever study on aging in dogs. "By studying aging in dogs," they said, "we can more quickly expand our knowledge of aging not just in dogs but also in humans." Owners can visit the Dog Aging Project's website to nominate their pooch. "Dogs and their owners are the heart of the Dog Aging Project," the researchers said.