March 20, 2026
A US federal court blocked the US Administration’s efforts to overhaul the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) amid intensifying challenges to vaccine science, while the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director sought to reassure lawmakers over funding delays and shifting research priorities. At the same time, the State Department quietly removed five “America First” health agreements from public access as scrutiny grows over Zambia’s draft MoU, and Argentina announced its intent to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Court Blocks ACIP Overhaul as Broader Challenges to Vaccine Science and Policy Intensify
A US federal judge blocked Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attempt to overhaul pediatric vaccine policy and restructure the ACIP, a gold-standard panel of medical experts. RFK Jr. previously replaced 17 members of ACIP with a mix of anti-vaccine, anti-science representatives, and the ACIP subsequently began to undermine vaccine recommendations. Tuesday’s court ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by a number of leading public health organizations, arguing that the Administration’s actions bypassed established scientific and procedural safeguards, raising concerns about political interference in long-standing vaccine recommendation processes and policy. Read AVAC’s An Assault on Vaccine Science and Policy, and the Stakes for Global Health. Also this week, a US federal working group drafted a confidential report proposing the creation of a diagnostic category specifically for COVID-19 vaccine injuries and side effects to be reviewed by the recently restructured ACIP.
IMPLICATIONS: The court ruling underscores the ongoing tension between political leadership and scientific governance in US public health institutions. By intervening, the court has temporarily safeguarded the integrity of evidence-based vaccine policy, but the dismantling of vaccine science and abdication of the country’s historic role as a leader in evidence-based public health continues. As AVAC’s Alison Footman PhD, MPH warned in an August statement, “These actions dangerously sow vaccine disinformation and mistrust, which has proliferated since the COVID-19 pandemic. Dangerous ideology results in dangerous policymaking, putting many lives at stake and complicating efforts to both discover and implement clinical and cost-effective interventions.”
READ:
- Judge Blocks RFK Jr.’s Overhaul of Vaccine Recommendations—MedPage Today
- Federal judge puts RFK Jr.’s new vaccine schedule, advisers on ice—Politico
- Fewer Americans trust government’s childhood vaccine recommendations: Survey—The Hill
- Federal judge stalls health secretary RFK Jr.’s overhaul of vaccine policy—STAT
- Judge Strikes Down Kennedy’s Vaccine Policies—New York Times
- A New Level of Vaccine Purgatory—The Atlantic
- Viewpoint: Uncertain victories mustn’t distract us from staying focused on defending health—CIDRAP
- Federal judge blocks RFK Jr’s overhaul of vaccine recommendations—The Guardian
- Confidential Report Calls for Sweeping Changes to Track Covid Vaccine Harms—New York Times
NIH Director Testifies, Promises to Disburse Funds as Agency Calls for Input into Strategy
US NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya testified on Tuesday at a closely watched House Appropriations hearing, acknowledging the slowdown in grantmaking and assuring lawmakers that the NIH will work to secure agreement from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to spend the full $48.7 billion NIH budget by the end of fiscal year 2026. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) raised the right issue: “I find it disconcerting that it took a congressional oversight hearing to prompt OMB to do what it should have done weeks ago.” A day prior, the NIH launched its first public webinar to solicit input on its next five-year strategic plan, signaling an effort to engage stakeholders in shaping future priorities. Yet, the NIH’s evolving approach to soliciting and funding research proposals (see last week’s Global Health Watch), including shifts in how projects are reviewed and prioritized, is being hotly debated. Join the next NIH strategy webinar April 8 and provide input to comments and suggestions on their “Framework for the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2027-2031”.
IMPLICATIONS: While NIH leadership is seeking to reassure Congress – and the research community – that funding will be fully deployed and that strategic planning remains inclusive, the slowdown in awards and changes to funding processes suggest otherwise. At a time when sustained investment and scientific independence are critical, short-term disruptions have lasting impact. Science does not operate with an on/off switch, it depends on sustained investment, stable institutions and trust. “When the Administration stops research funding abruptly, it rewinds scientific progress. It will take time and even more resources to get these studies back online—squandering the potential of future breakthroughs that are based on established, gold-standard science,” warned AVAC’s Stacey Hannah in an August statement.
READ:
- NIH pivots away from agency-directed science—Nature
- White House lifts hold on NIH research spending—Science
- NIH will spend its full budget this year, agency director promises House appropriators – STAT
- NIH Director Sails Through House Appropriations Oversight Hearing—MedPage Today
- US State Department not answering aid oversight questions—Devex
- Bhattacharya Appropriation Oversight Hearing—Drug Monkey
State Department Pulls “America First” Health MoUs as Zambia Draft Reveals Contentious Terms
The US Department of State quietly and without explanation removed the five previously published Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with African countries from its website. This further limits transparency around the agreements, which were only posted publicly last week following pressure from civil society in the US and MoU partner countries. At the same time, analyses on Zambia’s draft MoU reveal significant funding reductions, co-financing requirements, and links to broader economic and mineral access negotiations.
IMPLICATIONS: The shift toward bilateral, co-financed “country ownership” models is increasingly highlighting significant cuts to US investments in global health, uneven disclosure, non-transparency and growing indications of transactional terms tied to broader geopolitical and economic interests. The quiet removal of the publicly available MoUs underscores a pattern of limited transparency and accountability, making it difficult for countries, civil society, and implementers to assess obligations, plan for continuity or respond to risks.
READ:
- State Department Removes Controversial Health Agreements with African States from Website Without Explanation—Public Citizen
- U.S. Considers Withholding H.I.V. Aid Unless Zambia Expands Minerals Access—New York Times
- Zambia’s Draft Memorandum of Understanding With the U.S. Government: What Do We Know?—Health Gap
- The Department of State has an (even bigger) Accountability Problem—To End A Plague…Again Substack
Argentina Announces Plans to Depart from WHO
Argentina announced its intention to withdraw from the WHO, marking a significant shift in its global health engagement. The decision represents ongoing skepticism toward multilateral institutions and a push to reassert national control over health policy and financing. Argentina’s exit follows months of criticism of the WHO guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and closer ties with the White House.
IMPLICATIONS: Argentina’s withdrawal raises concerns about fragmentation in global health multilateralism and governance at a time when coordinated responses are essential. This is a broader trend in reduced support for multilateral health institutions, including the US’ decision last year to withdraw from the WHO, signaling growing strain on global cooperation at a critical moment for global health. For the HIV response and pandemic preparedness, reduced cooperation risks slowing responses to new and resurgent infectious diseases, undermining shared accountability, and complicating efforts to ensure equitable access to prevention, diagnostics and treatment worldwide.
READ:
- Argentina says it will withdraw from the World Health Organization, echoing Trump—Associated Press
- Argentina to withdraw from WHO after Trump exit, citing ‘deep differences’—Reuters
- Video: What Happens When the Next Pandemic Hits?—Georgetown University Global Health Institute
“International research is not an optional ‘add-on’ to the US HIV effort—it is a foundational engine of innovation, testing, and learning and it provides the scaffolding for creating a cascade of benefits for HIV management in the US and for research beyond HIV,” write University of California, San Francisco’s Judith Auerbach, Duke Global Health Institute’s, Jirair Ratevosian, AVAC’s Mitchell Warren in a new Health Affairs commentary.
What We’re Reading
- Pressure Builds as Pandemic Talks Reach Final Week with Little Consensus—Health Policy Watch
- After a Decade of Progress Against HIV, PrEP Enters a Precarious Era—JAMA
- White House Puts RFK Jr.’s HHS on Tighter Leash After MAHA Setbacks—Wall Street Journal
- United States is cutting ties with influential global cancer agency—Science
- The indirect — and sometimes surprising — benefits of vaccines—STAT
- Cambodia advances in HIV fight, but new infections continue—KHMER Times
- US pulls away from family planning. What about the $600M saved for it?—Devex
- New International Planned Parenthood chief steps in amid anti-rights surge—Devex
- Merging UNFPA and UN Women would undermine gender equality globally—Devex
- 180 000 infections in 2024, 47 000 by 2045 – if SA rolls out the twice-a-year prevention jab fast enough—Bhekisisa
- CAB-LA: The prevention jab that never had its moment, and what it leaves behind as LEN arrives—Bhekisisa
- Podcast: Putting communities first in HIV Research with Yvette Raphael—Global Health Unfiltered
- UK government axes flagship global health project—The Guardian
- Wellcome Report: Aid Cuts Catalyse Global Health Reform and Regional Cooperation—Health Policy Watch
- US State Department not answering aid oversight questions—Devex
- HIV Cure Research: Ethical and Real-World Practical Considerations for Pediatric and Adolescent Populations—Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
- How AI “Besties” in South Africa Are Changing Uptake of HIV Medication—Think Global Health