An epidemiologist on Trump's decision to pull funding for mRNA vaccine research

By Steve Inskeep

Published August 7, 2025 at 4:10 AM EDT

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with epidemiologist Michael Osterholm about a Trump administration decision to end funding for research into vaccines that fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu.

Steve Inskeep

Steve Inskeep is a host of NPR's Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.

See stories by Steve Inskeep

Support nonprofit, fact-based public service journalism

WEKU depends on support from those who view and listen to our content. There's no paywall here. Please support WEKU with your donation.

Contribute now

Related Content

NPR News

Federal judge rules cuts to humanities grants were 'unlawful'

Elizabeth Blair

The ruling deems the government's termination of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities "unlawful" and allows a lawsuit brought by humanities groups to move forward.
NPR News

Scientists find a planet from the Avatar movies in real life

Nell Greenfieldboyce

One of the brightest stars in the night sky seems to be orbited by a planet like Jupiter. The news is sure to cheer fans of the Avatar series, which centers on a moon that orbits a fictional gas giant planet in this particular star system.
NPR News

Ultra-processed food consumption is down a bit, but still more than 50% of U.S. diet

Yuki Noguchi

Americans get about 55% of our calories from tasty, cheap — and unhealthy — manufactured foods, the latest data from CDC says. For kids, the percentage is even higher.
The Commonwealth

Report: Kentucky has awarded $150M of single-bid asphalt contracts this year

Joe Sonka

A free market think tank found Kentucky awarded $150 million of single-bid asphalt contracts in the first six months of this year, following $270 million given in 2024.
NPR News

Trump calls for U.S. census to exclude for the first time people with no legal status

Hansi Lo Wang

Trump is calling for a "new" census that excludes people in the U.S. without legal status. The 14th Amendment requires the "whole number of persons in each state" in a key set of census results.