27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 6/28/26

Written By Cara AB

Hi NIH Vigilers and 27 UNIHTED Community,

A surprising amount of good news this week!  Enjoy it while it lasts.

Here are the highlights:

Vigil “Auntie” News 

- The Good -

Censored CDC study on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy is published in leading journal

There was a scientific uproar back in April as Trump’s CDC was purported to have blocked the publication of an internally generated study supporting COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, a concept which has been loudly criticized by both HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CDC Acting Director, Jay Bhattacharya - who personally flagged the study for delay and re-evaluation.  The source of concern, according to Bhattacharya’s Washington Post OpEd was the study’s use of a test-negative design, which in this case looked at the recent COVID-19 vaccination rates in over 100,000 patients who appeared in hospital, emergency or urgent care settings for respiratory-related symptoms, and compared  the number of positive COVID-19 tests to negative controls relative to 2025-2026 vaccine exposure.  The confounds of a test-negative design, which have been professionally accepted in the field,are also arguable strengths - the analysis includes a random mix of patients with variable prior exposure to COVID-19 and prior vaccination, as well as potentially unrelated co-existing conditions, reflecting the real-world backdrop of vaccine efficacy.  The study “Interim Estimated Effectiveness of 2025-2026 COVID-19 Vaccines in Adults Using a Test-Negative Design” has now been published by JAMA Network Open and reports a 50 - 55% reduction in COVID-19-associated emergency/urgent care and hospitalizations compared to unvaccinated individuals.  The authors concluded, “This study found that 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccines were associated with additional protection against medically attended COVID-19 beyond individuals’ existing immunity, suggesting that adults can reduce their likelihood of severe COVID-19–associated outcomes by obtaining a 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccination.”

Positive turnarounds at the FDA - plans to hire 2,200 more employees

We reported on May 10 about how the FDA was failing to do its job, even in achieving its own stated priorities.  Since then, there has been a flurry of reports about internal chaos and leadership turnover with critics questioning the scientific basis of several controversial decisions (e.g. more flavored e-cigarettes and tanning beds for minors, less support for antidepressants, flu vaccines and new skin cancer drugs).  But things have been turning around recently under new FDA Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas. As we mentioned last week, the role of advisory panels received support from officials and the agency has agreed to reassess several previously rejected treatments for rare diseases. This week, the FDA announced plans to hire 2,200 employees (a 73% recovery of the ~3,000 lost in the last year).  600 new hires are currently onboarding and staff attrition rates have fallen back to traditional levels following targeted retention efforts. Acting Director for the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Michael Davis said at a recent town hall “if we’re losing at the same pace of hiring for whatever reason, because people are dissatisfied with what they do, then it’s not working... can you come for coffee to discuss how can we keep you.” Other officials have reported a perceived increase in general workforce morale.

More good news:

  • 27 UNIHTED has published Part 4 of the Probationary Project survey results, focusing on unemployment, job searching, career interruption, reinstatement and mental health impacts following probationary federal-worker firings.

  • In case you missed it, you can catch up on last Tuesday’s WCOM radio discussion with 27U organizers on “Lost Science” and the current status of NIH by listening to the archived recording or reading the transcript on 27 UNIHTED’s substack.

  • Join us in celebrating Vigil Auntie and incoming Co-Director of 27 UNIHTED, Dr. Nina Friedman, as she successfully defended her PhD dissertation last Friday. 

  • 8 Americans have been released from a 42-day Hantavirus-related quarantine following criticism of the HHS Secretary and CDC Director for allegedly keeping some former cruise ship passengers at federal facilities against their will, despite clearance to quarantine at their homes. 

  • DOGE’d former employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have rebuilt a climate information website, Climate.us, after the administration shut down the government-run version and made its public data difficult to access.

  • The National Academy of Public Administration celebrated civil servants at a “Celebration of the American Public Servant” gala, with speakers highlighting the difficult and often unrecognized positive impact of federal employees.

  • A federal judge in Texas has temporarily halted the Department of Justice’s efforts to obtain sensitive medical records from transgender patients at New York hospitals, calling the move “egregious” and unconstitutional.

  • Democrats on the House Oversight committee are standing up for U.S. public health, releasing a scathing report this week - “Abandoning Americans to Disease: The Trump Administration’s Reckless Crusade is Harming America’s Health.” 

- The Bad -

Opposition Grows to Proposed New OMB Grant Rules

In only a month, the number of comments on the Federal Register for the OMB’s proposed “Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance” rule has reached a staggering 67,000+ with the majority of these in opposition to what has been frequently characterized as a political takeover of federal grantmaking.  Multiple scientific societies and organizations have been putting out commenting guides and urging members to raise their voices. The Society for Neuroscience stated that “this rule would prioritize political review over peer review, allow the government to terminate grants mid-project, restrict researchers' ability to collaborate internationally, publish their work, and attend scientific conferences, and more.“ Additional guidance is available from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), the Oceanography Society, the American Physical Society (APS) and a Science Rising initiative from the Union of Concerned Scientists. The United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) is offering two online workshops in July (see “Events” below).  The scientific panic is being heard and amplified on the Hill as well.  Ranking members of the House Energy and Commerce committee have sent a letter to NIH Director Bhattacharya, pointing out that the proposed rules would usurp NIH’s authority over its own grants and inject partisanship into NIH science, something Director Bhattacharya has repeatedly opposed. 125 House Democrats have signed a letter to OMB Director Russell Vought highlighting the value of federal research and warning that the proposed changes violate Congress’ power to appropriate funds.  This letter may represent the first formal step toward further opposition, such as an attempt to use the Congressional Review Act to override Executive Branch authority before implementing any finalized rule language.  Given the President’s own Executive Order on “Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking”, this would likely require veto-proof majority votes in Congress. We have until July 13 to submit public comments.

NSF gouges funding for basic research; suddenly finds more money for new tech initiative

In 2022, NSF created a new “Technology, Innovation and Partnerships” (TIP) directorate, intended to increase the translational value of NSF research by focusing on U.S. competitiveness, national security, workforce development, and commercialization.  Translation is an important part of scientific progress, and federal funding should benefit taxpayers, but basic research is the primordial ooze from which innovation bubbles up to be translated.  Debate over the Endless Frontier Act, which TIP descended from, included worries from the scientific community that a new NSF mandate would re-direct time and resources away from basic discovery research.  Those fears are likely why Congress included the following in NSF’s FY 2026 appropriations bill:  “In developing the spending plan and allocating funds, the agreement directs NSF to equitably distribute funding to support all basic research directorates within R&RA, as well as the Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Directorate. No directorate shall receive more  than a 5 percent reduction relative to the fiscal year 2024 enacted level.” Despite this, Science is reporting this week that NSF’s basic science programs have seen budget cuts of 20-30%, three programs in geosciences were slashed by 60%, while the overall NSF budget is only 3% lower than last year.  A June 18th memo from inside the math and physical sciences directorate instructs program managers to hold all funding requests and pull back recommended awards.  So where is all that money going?  In a very hard-to-believe coincidence, NSF has publicly announced a $1.5 BILLION investment in its new TIP initiative, X-Labs, which was launched in December 2025 with a relatively modest $50 million price tag.  NSF has not explained the funding source for this massive upscale, but we can guess.

More bad news:

  • Johns Hopkins University has laid off 110 mostly administrative staff, citing a 43% reduction in federal funding that shrunk its research portfolio by more than $500 million in 2025.  You can read more about the impacts of federal science funding cuts at SCIMaP.

  • The Department of Agriculture has announced plans to shut down the world’s largest agricultural research facility, a critical site for bee research, in Beltsville, Maryland despite objections from Congress.

  • The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report detailing a timeline and statistical breakdown of the 255,000+ federal worker net loss between January 2025 and January 2026, primarily due to retirements and resignations. 

- The Ugly -

Trump's $11 Billion Resignation Program. 

A Public Citizen report finds the administration has paid federal workers at least $11 billion, likely far more, not to work. Nearly 140,000 employees took the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), paid but exempted from their duties for weeks or months before separating.  These totals only cover the DRP and do not include other downsizing costs, such as severance payments made during Reductions in Force, loss of government revenue, or the cost of lost or slowed government services due to understaffing.  Taxpayer costs may be even higher as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) authorized agencies to continue using DRP agreements for up to six months of fiscal year 2026, which ends on September 30.  At the same time, at least 10 agencies were forced to rehire DRP participants after realizing they were essential, according to Public Citizen.

OMB rule could defund health disparities research

Guidelines on Federal Financial Assistance § 200.218 - “To the maximum extent permitted by law, Federal agencies must eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts relevant to Federal awards.  Disparate-impact liability imperils the effectiveness of civil rights laws by mandating, rather than proscribing, discrimination.” Health disparities researchers fear this section of the new OMB rule on federal grantmaking could shut out most of their field from federal support.  The administration has already terminated many grants focused on health disparities and instituted new HHS screening procedures that disadvantage grants using words/phrases associated with health equity or certain ethnic groups.  Ironically, it’s a twisted interpretation of civil rights law that the administration is using to make it harder to identify and rectify bias.  Disparate impact analysis, which is included in many health disparities research designs, allows us to identify where discrimination may be occurring and to uncover contributing causes that may guide solutions.  By contrast, the administration is arguing that research designed to study such disparities violates a legally mandated “color-blind” approach to federally funded work. According to a social epidemiologist quoted in the piece, “If this rule is taken to mean that you’re not supposed to compare groups because some of them have quote-unquote protected status, then you’re ruling out actually understanding what’s truly going on in the population…” It is a sad commentary on the 1984-quality of our times that “anti-discrimination” is being used to remove a critical tool for pushing back on the persistent suppression of minority groups. 

More ugly news:

  • HHS is terminating funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, citing a lack of alignment with U.S. presidential priorities; grant money is being redirected towards two very similar-sounding programs that critics argue are an attempt to promote “conservative ideology” (first program and second program).

  • NIH virologists were arrested over allegations of smuggling mpox virus. Thus far, samples of concern have tested negative for active virus, but this week Congressional Republicans are using the charges to broaden oversight scrutiny of NIH and Rocky Mountain Labs.

Science Interrupted

Reflection from the Community

"It [the banned words] kept expanding. “Poverty, vulnerable populations, minorities, specific immigrant communities.” And it is very, I think when we were all inside, we used the word soul crushing." 

- Former NIH Program Officer, Sylvia Chou (from the WCOM interview, 6/23)

Leadership Watch

Following a meteoric rise through HHS ranks - first as CDC Director of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and then Kennedy’s chief counselor - Chris Klomp has been nominated for the HHS second-in-command post of Deputy Secretary by President Trump.  A former tech entrepreneur, Mr. Klomp has become known for negotiating drug prices with pharmaceutical companies and finding administration allies to fill the rotating carnival ride of HHS leadership positions. 

Upcoming Events

27 UNIHTED Events

Community Events

  • Allstrike to play at upcoming events:

    • 6/30 - Black Cat (tickets available) 

    • 7/3 - Black Cat (tickets available)

    • 7/4 - 7 Days in DC event leading up to July 4, sponsored by Indivisible, 50501DC, and FLARE.

  • NIH Small Business 101.  NIH is hosting a free webinar series on small business funding opportunities (SBIR/STTR) on Tuesdays at 1:30 pm ET.

    • 7/9 - America’s Seed Fund is Back

    • 7/14 - Building Your Budget

    • 8/18 - Managing Foreign Risk

  • NEW OMB comment-writing workshops. The United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) is hosting virtual comment-writing workshops on July 7 and 10 for researchers and patient communities affected by the OMB rule.

Calls To Action

NEW Should NIH limit the number of simultaneously held research grants?

NIH has posted a new Request for Information notice that suggests limiting the number of simultaneous research project grants (RPGs) that an individual investigator can simultaneously hold.  The intention is reasonable - to allow a larger number of researchers the opportunity to pursue their research ideas. The suggested limits are 2, 3, or 4. Importantly, the proposal does not indicate exceptions for small grants or multiple PI grants.  Researchers’ feedback on this proposal seems to be mixed, so if you want to share your thoughts, submit your feedback by August 4.

Endorse the Bethesda Declaration - One Year Later

A year after the release of the original Bethesda Declaration, NIH staff remain concerned. The chaos of 2025 has been replaced with coordinated, systematic, institutionalized destruction in 2026. If you share these concerns, be counted as a supporter of the Bethesda Declaration: One Year Later.  Learn more about the Bethesda Declaration Movement on 27 UNIHTED's Bethesda Declaration Hub.

Stand with EPA scientists

100+ EPA employees were fired for signing a Declaration of Dissent raising concerns about their working environment and recent policy changes.  Sign the petition to support these silenced staff members who were retaliated against for speaking out to protect science and public health.  Currently at 561 signatures.

Stop the political takeover of research and let scientists follow the science, by July 13

This is a 5-alarm fire!  Comment on the proposed Federal Financial Assistance rule, individually and with specific detail.  Former NIH Program Officer Liz Ginexi has drafted guidance on how to make your comments more effective.  Federal Register OMB-2026-0034.  Currently at over 67,457 public comments.

Sign on for Scientific Integrity

The Union of Concerned Scientists has drafted a letter of support for the Scientific Integrity Act, which has been reintroduced to the Senate.  Let our leaders know that evidence-based decision-making is important to you by signing The Momentum for Scientific Integrity Action here.

Stand up for the National Science Board

On April 25, the Trump administration dismissed all sitting members of the National Science Board, an independent advisory group for the National Science Foundation.  Sign this open letter to Congress from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine (NASEM), asking for the reinstatement of fired members and appointments for all vacant positions.  27 UNIHTED has added its organizational endorsement.  Currently at over 3,000 public supporters.

Add your name (or anonymous voice) on the petition to urge Congress to impeach OMB Director Russell Vought for unlawfully dismantling government services Americans rely on.  Currently at 1,980+ signatures (almost at the 2,000 target). 

Reach out to your members of Congress about issues that matter to you. 

Some possible topics:

Help the NIH Community: Review a resume, host a job workshop, plan a happy hour, volunteer, and/or advocate with 27 UNIHTED.  Check out the links on our website to take action and volunteer. 

Wellness Weekly

Our somewhat serious community recommendations for self-care are:

  • Make tea and let it steep for the full recommended time

  • Light a candle (do not leave unattended)

  • Make a playlist with songs about dancing with yourself and then do it!

In solidarity,

27 UNIHTED and NIH Vigils

Cara AB
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27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 6/21/26