NIAID staffers told to remove pandemic preparedness info from website

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases employees were instructed to eliminate the words “biodefense” and “pandemic preparedness” from its webpages, Nature reported. NIAD employees who spoke with Nature said the Institute would deprioritize the topics as part of an overhaul of its funded research projects. The employees said National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, told them NIAD would focus on basic immunology and other infectious diseases affecting the U.S. population, instead of traditional areas of HIV, biodefense and pandemic preparedness research. Critics say the move would leave the U.S. more vulnerable to pathogens evolving in wildlife and spilling into humans, sometimes causing outbreaks. In June 2025, the administration shuttered the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy. (Nature article, 2/13/26)