The revelation that National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials are instructing scientists to scrub references to mRNA technology from their grant applications is an unmistakable sign of the Trump administration’s war on science.

This brazen attack, detailed in leaked emails and firsthand accounts from researchers, is not an isolated incident. It is part of a far-reaching, deliberate assault on public health, spearheaded by the Trump administration through Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine demagogue now installed as Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary.

The ruling elites’ unrelenting effort to dismantle scientific institutions, suppress research, and weaponize public health policies against the population has been ongoing for years. But with Trump and his vassal Kennedy at the helm, this war on science and public health has entered a new, more sinister phase. Scientists are now being coerced into self-censorship, fearing that even acknowledging mRNA vaccines in their research proposals could cost them funding—and their careers.

Multiple scientists have come forward, under the cover of anonymity, to reveal that NIH officials warned them to remove references to mRNA vaccine technology from grant applications. A monumental achievement of science, developed over the course of decades of pioneering research, mRNA technology is currently the most promising advance in the fight against cancer, AIDS and other infectious diseases.

An NIH official confirmed that acting Director Matthew Memoli instructed staff to report any mRNA vaccine-related grants, contracts, or collaborations to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s office and the White House. Memoli further cancelled other research, such as on vaccine hesitancy.

This unprecedented directive signals the agency’s intention to abandon a field of research that has saved millions of lives worldwide. The COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which relied on mRNA technology, have been administered to billions, with conservative estimates crediting them for preventing at least three million deaths in the U.S. alone.

Scientists rightfully fear that this is the precursor to an outright ban on federally funded mRNA research, a decision driven not by evidence, but by the anti-vaccine conspiracy theories that have become gospel in Trump’s circles. The final goal: to dismantle public health and divert all social funds to the billionaires.

According to an NIH-funded scientist in New York, who spoke to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF.org) under conditions of anonymity, “There will not be any research funded by NIH on mRNA vaccines. MAGA people are convinced that these vaccines have killed and maimed tens of thousands of people. It’s not true, but they believe that.”

This paranoia, fueled by disinformation, has real-world consequences—not only for scientific progress but for the countless lives that could be saved by future mRNA-based vaccines, especially considering the promising ongoing research on cancer.

The decision to suppress mRNA research cannot be separated from the broader attack on public health orchestrated by Kennedy. Long before he was installed as HHS Secretary, Kennedy had built his career on spreading disinformation about vaccines, in the process accruing millions of dollars in personal wealth. Now, he has the full power of the federal government at his disposal to impose his anti-vaccine ideology.

As Texas grapples with a growing measles outbreak that has infected 279 people as of March 18, Kennedy has used his platform to denounce childhood vaccination schedules, falsely claiming that vaccines are unsafe. His response to the outbreak has been nothing short of criminal negligence. Instead of urging immediate vaccination, Kennedy has peddled baseless theories that malnutrition, not lack of immunization, is the primary driver of the crisis.

When a child died from measles in Texas, Kennedy doubled down, promoting “vaccine choice” and questioning the effectiveness and safety of the MMR vaccine—despite overwhelming evidence that it is one of the safest and most effective vaccines ever developed.

At the same time, Kennedy is clearly directing the CDC to “review” the thoroughly debunked claims that vaccines cause autism, while pushing the FDA to stall or completely eliminate this year’s seasonal flu vaccine development program, which would have devastating consequences in the US and globally. This winter has seen the worst flu season in the US in over a decade, with over 23,000 needless deaths so far.

This rejection of science is not just a rhetorical stance; it is an active government policy. Under Kennedy and Trump’s leadership, the administration has gutted federal public health infrastructure. One of their first moves was the mass firing of 5,200 HHS workers, including critical personnel from the Epidemic Intelligence Service, effectively crippling the nation’s ability to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks.

The removal of mRNA research from NIH funding applications is part of a broader strategy to suppress vaccine science, dismantle public health institutions, and promote medical quackery. The administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by fascist billionaire Elon Musk, has been tasked with overseeing a sweeping reorganization of federal agencies, with directives to prepare for massive layoffs. The NIH, a global leader in biomedical research, now finds itself under intense political pressure to abandon projects that contradict the Trump administration’s reactionary agenda.

As a result, critical vaccine-related studies remain in limbo. Dr. Kawsar Talaat, a vaccine researcher at Johns Hopkins University, has been waiting for months for NIH funding to recruit participants for a study on an antidiarrheal vaccine. NIH had previously approved the grant, but now, under the new regime, researchers like Talaat have no idea whether their work will move forward or be axed.

This is scientific censorship on a scale never before seen in the United States. The consequences will be catastrophic. The very research that could protect humanity from cancer, one of the main causes of death, or from the next pandemic, is now under threat from an administration hellbent on imposing its anti-science dogma.

The Trump-Kennedy assault on public health is not just a domestic issue. The administration has already signaled its intent to withdraw NIH funding from international collaborations, targeting global vaccine research efforts. This includes research in South Africa, which the White House has falsely accused of persecuting white Afrikaner citizens. These xenophobic policies will further isolate American scientists against their will from the rest of the world, leaving critical global health initiatives to wither on the vine.

At the same time, the administration is actively working to criminalize mRNA vaccine distribution in multiple states. Republican lawmakers in at least seven states have introduced bills aimed at banning or restricting mRNA vaccines, with some proposing criminal penalties for doctors who administer them. The goal is clear: to turn conspiracy theory into law and dismantle the public’s access to lifesaving vaccines.

The Trump administration’s decision to purge mRNA vaccine research from NIH funding is an attack on science itself. It is an attempt to erase knowledge, to rewrite reality according to the dictates of reactionary ideology that seeks to defund public health. Scientists are now forced to make a grim calculation: submit to political censorship, or risk their careers.

The scientific community and the working class must recognize this crackdown for what it is: the opening salvo in a full-scale dismantling of public health and modern medicine. The Trump administration, with Kennedy as its public health executioner, is determined to roll back decades of scientific progress. Should they succeed, the costs would be measured not just in lost research and ruined careers, but in millions of human lives.