Fruits of Decades of AIDS Vaccine Research Imperiled by Trump’s Withdrawal of US Funding

After decades of failed attempts, scientists were optimistic that a new generation of HIV vaccine candidates would finally succeed — changing the course of a pandemic that’s claimed more than 42 million lives since 1981. But that hope is now dimming as the US moves to pull vital funding.

A leaked document detailing the fate of more than 6,200 USAID programs lists two leading HIV vaccine efforts among 5,341 projects earmarked for termination. The 281-page file, reviewed by Bloomberg News and first reported by The New York Times, outlines the Trump administration’s plan to cut almost $28 billion in support for a wide range of global health initiatives — including Gavi, the vaccine alliance that immunizes hundreds of millions of children against deadly diseases such as measles and malaria.