Senate presses NIH director on vaccines and funding upheaval

During a Senate HELP hearing, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya faced tough questions on vaccine safety messaging and sweeping funding disruptions that terminated or paused hundreds of grants and trials, including cancer and HIV research. He reaffirmed that vaccines do not cause autism, cited public mistrust as a contributing factor, and said NIH is moving to fill leadership vacancies and restore advisory councils, while avoiding a firm commitment on disruption impact analyses.