27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 2/21/26
Hi NIH Vigilers and 27 UNIHTED Community,
February is rolling along!
Calls To Action
Fill out 27 UNIHTED’s survey about the February 2025 layoffs of probationary employees.
Leave comments on the Federal Register or NIH’s website — stop harmful policy targeting stem cell research!
Reach out to your Representatives and urge them to:
Fight laws that harm transgender people, such as the proposed CMS rule that just closed for public comment.
Re-authorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program
Introduce legislation to limit multi-year funding at NIH (Vought’s dirty trick to cut the budget for new science)
Support the “Follow the Science Act,” that would shield NIH from many sources of political interference
Oppose Oregon National Primate Research Center closure
Help Out the NIH Community:
Review a resume
Host a job workshop
Plan a happy hour
Volunteer and/or advocate with 27 UNIHTED
Find more links to take action and volunteer on our website!
Upcoming Events
27 UNIHTED Events:
Weekly Peer Empowerment Call every Thursday at 6:00 p.m.
Weekly NIH Vigil every Saturday at 10:00 a.m.
Community events:
Vigil Auntie and Bethesda Declaration signer Mollie Manier to give a talk at the Progressive Democrats of America Town Hall on Sunday, February 22 at 4:00 p.m.
Current or former Federal employee? Join Rise Up for a meetup of federal employees and contractors on Monday, February 23, 5:00-6:00 p.m. at C. Burr Artz Library in Frederick, Maryland.
MoveOn & MeidasTouch to host the “People’s State of the Union” rally on Tuesday, February 24 at 8:30 p.m. near the Capitol. Vigil Auntie and Bethesda Declaration signer Jenna Norton to speak.
Rally to Take Back Science: Join Stand Up for Science on Saturday, March 7 in Washington, DC. Vigil Auntie and Bethesda Declaration signer Jenna Norton to speak.
No Kings Rally nationwide on Saturday, March 28.
Vigil “Auntie” News – Hard Hits
Jay Bhattacharya Appointed Acting Director of CDC. NIH Director will now hold dual appointments at both the NIH and the CDC, sparking concerns about appropriate management at both agencies.
Former HHS Secretary and CDC Acting Director to head NSF. President Trump plans to nominate Jim O'Neill to lead the NSF, despite his lack of appropriate scientific credentials.
New Performance Evaluation Goals for Federal Workers Include Orwellian Objectives. Examples include “Eliminate Woke, Weaponization, and Waste,” “Downsize the federal workforce,” and (ironically) “Find and annihilate Government censorship of speech.”
Congressionally Appropriated NASA and CDC Funds Being Held by the Trump administration, in violation of the law.
HHS Proposes Spending $2B/Year to Recreate World Health Organization (WHO) Systems. The Trump administration pulled the United States out of WHO last year. Now they are creating duplicate systems at a much higher cost.
Further Ethical Concerns in CDC-Funded Hepatitis B Study in Guinea-Bissau. A Rolling Stone investigation uncovered irregularities in the ethics review of a $1.6M research grant to examine the effects of a birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau
Wellness Weekly
Our somewhat serious community recommendations for self care are:
Walk with a dog
Adopt a toad!!
Positive News
FDA Reverses Course on Moderna Vaccine Denial. Vinay Prasad overruled FDA staff to reject a Moderna mRNA vaccine submission earlier this month. After substantial public outcry, FDA agreed to accept the submission.
Barnstorm 27 UNIHTED Fundraiser Concerts Were A Huge Success! The two Barnstorm concerts featuring former NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins were a great time. An estimated 100 attendees raised more than $4K. 27 UNIHTED is aiming to raise $150K by June 1. These fundraiser concerts were a big step toward making 27 UNIHTED and its NIH advocacy work sustainable for those working overtime without pay to save our future cures and treatments. Now that 27 UNIHTED is an incorporated organization, donations can be made directly through our website, and we will soon host merchandise sales (like our great Vigil T-shirts) as well.
In solidarity,
27 UNIHTED and NIH Vigils