This week: the 2022 federal budget, a new NIH programme and concern over Covid policymaking
In depth: A major report into tackling antimicrobial resistance has called for the establishment of a dedicated cross-agency committee to brainstorm ways of tackling the problem and fund new innovations.
Full story: Academies call for committee to shape antimicrobials research
Also this week from Research Professional News
European and US research leaders make joint climate pledge—Leaders of 25 research organisations promise greater collaboration and knowledge-sharing
NIH awards $75m to African data science projects—Five-year grants aim to strengthen continent’s ability to manage and analyse health data
Here is the rest of the US news this week…
Medical research organisations push for budget resolution
More than 200 research-related organisations in the United States have signed a letter calling on Congressional leaders to resolve an ongoing dispute about the country’s 2022 federal budget. The letter, organised by biomedical campaign organisation Research!America, warns against continuing debate over the 2022 appropriations bill and urges leaders to reach an agreement before a 3 December deadline to avoid “stalling progress” in the US recovery from Covid-19. “The consequences of failing in this task are untenable for the American people,” the letter says.
NIH allocates $125m to study specific cell type
The National Institutes of Health has launched a $125 million programme inviting researchers to study rare ‘senescent’ cells. The cells, which unusually do not divide, play a key role in biological processes. The funder wants to identify and characterise the differences between senescent cells located in different areas of the body, and across various states of human health and lifespan, in the hope of developing more targeted therapies.
Concern about advice on Covid booster vaccines
Ranking Republican members of the House science and oversight subcommittees, Frank Lucas and Jay Obernolte, have called on government administrators to stop giving out what they said were mixed messages regarding Covid-19 vaccines. In a letter to the heads of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, Rochelle Walensky and Janet Woodcock, the opposition representatives said they were “dismayed” at the administration’s failure to “follow the science” after public confusion over the safety of mixing and matching vaccine brands for booster shots. “Conflicting messages” risked “undermining public confidence in the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines”, the representatives warned.