HHS Said It’s Pulling Billions in Leftover COVID-19 Funds. The Cuts Go Far Beyond the Pandemic.

DOGE is touting cuts to pandemic prevention research, mental health support, substance abuse prevention and grants for cancer research centers.

Department of Health and Human Services

Francis Chung/POLITICO/AP

The cuts the Department of Health and Human Services began making this week to billions of dollars of grants to roughly 400 institutions go far beyond pulling back leftover funds for pandemic-era testing and vaccine efforts.

An HHS official told NOTUS that the funds had “largely” been used for COVID-19 testing and vaccination and initiatives to address COVID-related health disparities among high-risk, underserved and racial minority populations, as well as global COVID-relief projects.

But a NOTUS review of the specific programs found the cuts were much more sweeping than the agency described — cutting funding from future pandemic preparedness programs, cancer research centers, mental health and substance abuse services and more.

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