Can you make this make sense? Trump admin science question

[user5566774]

MRNA vaccines have offered hope for pancreatic cancer patients in phase 1 clinical trials, so presumably there are implications for other kinds of cancer.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/mrna-vaccine-treat-pancreatic-cancer

The NIH has now warned scientists to get rid of mrna references on grant proposals as there are fears the field will be targeted.

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/nih-grants-mrna-vaccines-trump-administration-hhs-rfk/

Is this really part of the 'mandate'? To stop promising scientific research?

The current US government doesn't do science. MRNA vaccines are associated with the COVID vaccine, so they are a taboo to the tinfoil hat zealots over there. Science in the US will be set back easily a decade during this second term. The best we can hope for is increased investment coming to the rest of the world instead.

Perhaps...

I think what this specific mandate relates to is the potential for confusion with prophylactic vaccines and especially in the context that the most-effective COVID vaccines also involve the same technology and given that the new head of health and human services (who likely regulates government funding decisions) is a notable anti-vaxxer, even if he publicly denies this.

Not sure what the voting will mean here…YANBU to be concerned, YABU if you think anyone can make sense of it.
Priorities re vaccine research whether for cancer or anything else should be set by doctors and scientists, not scientifically illiterate politicians.

Although actually I don't think we need to worry about the development of this particular vaccine and several others....these are already being tested in various industry-funded trials at centres inside and outside of the USA and I don't see the Trump administration putting a stop to that research activity.

Whether someone like RFK jr leans on the FDA not to approve such interventions would be interesting, especially as they're likely to be highly effective, at least in the context of pancreatic cancer.

A large part of the MAGA messaging is the promotion of conspiracy theories. Anti-vaccine propaganda is just part of it. It's not about what's best, or what has evidence to support it, it's about feeding the base on a diet of fantasies for them to be scared about so they'll look to Big Daddy Trump to fix.

Yes, I completely get that. But presumably they can still feed ridiculous anti-science propaganda to the X contingent while still quietly permitting actual medical research to move forward?

Hard to say what will actually happen with mRNA vaccines specifically, although I suspect the administration will be looking to reduce research funding in general.

This is the problem with all of this MAGA BS, its really hard to work out what is going to be enacted a serious policy and what's just them saying stuff and sometimes they don't even need to pass policy because people fear for the worst anyway....hence the guidelines on omitting any mention of mRNA from grant applications, which may or may not be relevant going forward.

Sure, they could. But will they? I suppose if it's in the financial interests of Trump/Musk/etc to allow that research to continue then it'll continue. If there's nothing personally in it for them then it won't.

You would hope so. The commercial pharma/biotech companies make use of research by public bodies such as NIH, I’d imagine they’re a pretty powerful lobby.

But surely they've had loved ones die from, or be very ill with, cancer? No amount of money can ultimately save people from that.

What is it about anything that Trump or Musk have ever done that led you to believe they're even capable of loving someone else more than their own egos?

Fair point

That's worrying.😬