12 Department of Health and Human Services grants terminated in Arkansas
ARKANSAS (KNWA/KFTA) — Twelve Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants have been terminated in Arkansas.
In late March, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the changes, stating the department will be doing 'more with less.' HHS expects the changes will save $1.8 billion annually, but they also include major grant cuts nationwide, impacting the Natural State as well.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) received a $3 million NIH grant to study structural racism and healthcare access among older African American men. About $1 million remains unspent.
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) received more than $365 million in CDC grants for various public health programs, but all of these grants have since been terminated. In total, about $202.9 million was spent and $162.3 million remained unspent.
The Arkansas Department of Health received over $365 million in CDC grants, all of which have since been terminated.
$260.2 million went to the 2019 Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) program; $158.2 million was spent, leaving $102 million unspent.
$64.6 million was granted for the Immunization and Vaccines for Children program; $26.6 million was used, with $38 million left unspent.
$40.4 million was allocated to reduce COVID-19 disparities; $18 million was spent, with over $22 million unspent.
DOGE planning to terminate more than $165M in grants to Arkansas services
A spokesperson for ADH told KNWA/FOX24 that the grants were supplemental funding in immunizations, health disparities, and epidemiology and laboratory capacity (ELC) funding.
'We always understood these were temporary grants. The ADH is adjusting accordingly and is well equipped to serve Arkansans,' the spokesperson said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Andrew Cuomo admits he saw COVID nursing home report — and may have amended it after DOJ probe into testimony
Mayoral hopeful Andrew Cuomo admitted Thursday that he not only saw a controversial report on nursing home COVID deaths while he was governor, but may have doctored the document – a bombshell confession that contradicts his sworn Congressional testimony. 'I did not recall seeing the report at the time. I did see the report, it turns out,' Cuomo told PIX11 News. 'I'm sure if I read the report I made language changes.' The mea culpa comes after the Department of Justice earlier this year reportedly opened a criminal investigation into whether Cuomo lied on Capitol Hill when he adamantly denied that he drafted, reviewed, discussed or consulted on a nursing home report on Empire State nursing home deaths. The controversial report downplayed the consequences of Cuomo's now-infamous March 25, 2020 directive that forced recovering COVID patients into senior care facilities without mandated testing to see if they could still infect others. When he revoked the order, thousands of sick New Yorkers had been either admitted or readmitted into nursing homes. Yet, the state underreported the deaths by nearly 50%. Emails obtained by a congressional subcommittee show that Cuomo aides discussed his role in drafting the report, and include the former governor's own handwritten edits. But during his grilling by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in June 2024, he denied accusations of mishandling the COVID response and pointed to federal guidance as having hampered his administration's response. During private questioning by House members, Cuomo claimed he didn't review a draft of the nursing home before it was released, and didn't remember editing or speaking about it before it was released on July 7, 2020, according to a transcript. 'I do not recall reviewing,' Cuomo said. When he was asked if he had edited the report, he said 'I don't recall seeing it.' Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, took issue with the ex-governor's new stance on Thursday. 'It's remarkable that former Governor Cuomo now admits he read and edited the COVID nursing home report, only after facing a federal investigation for lying to Congress about it,' Comer (R-KY) said in a statement. 'Cuomo's deadly order forcing COVID-positive patients into nursing homes led to the deaths of thousands of seniors,' he added. 'He must be held accountable for the order, the cover-up and the lies.' Relatives of nursing home patients who died as a result of the botched call also slammed Cuomo's new 'weasel answer' Thursday. 'I hope it's a smoking gun,' said Vivian Zayas, who lost her mom to COVID inside a Long Island nursing home in 2021. 'I hope it's the tip of the iceberg of the accountability that will come,' Zayas said. 'Cuomo wants to be mayor, but he has selective memory.' Peter Arbeeny, whose father died in another home during the pandemic, said Cuomo has 'selective memory.' 'Cuomo said he wrote a 320-page book from memory, but can't remember reading and writing a health department report,' Arbeeny told The Post,, calling the wannabe mayor 'slick.' 'They were suppressing a narrative about nursing home deaths because they were writing a book,' he said. Despite his new admission, a spokesman for Cuomo claimed the ex-governor has always been up front about the 'politicized' controversy. Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi defended his boss and claimed in a statement that he has been consistent when addressing the controversy in the past. 'Despite attempts to paint this otherwise, Governor Cuomo's comments are consistent with what he has said all along,' Azzopardi told The Post Thursday. 'He testified truly and to the best of his recollection. 'He also offered, in good faith, to review any additional documents the [congressional] committee may have had in its possession to refresh his recollection, which they declined to present,' he said. 'That's because this was never about fact-finding. It was all politics from day one.' Cuomo's tenure in Albany was marred by allegations of sexual harassment and charges that his administration undercounted nursing home deaths during the pandemic — claims he has denied. A former HUD secretary and New York State attorney general — and son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo — Andrew Cuomo was elected governor in 2011 and served until the mounting sex harassment claims forced him to resign in 2021. He is considered the front-runner to replace Eric Adams as mayor of the Big Apple.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
New Nimbus COVID-19 variant — What you need to know
SALT LAKE CITY () — With reports of a new variant of COVID-19 out there, it's important to remain informed and prepare. Public health experts are saying that the new Nimbus variant is more contagious, and they're recommending COVID boosters. The official name of the new variant is NB.1.8.1, but it has been nicknamed Nimbus. spoke with Dr. Kelly Oakeson, Chief Scientist for Next Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics at the Utah Public Health Lab with the Utah Department of Health about what you need to know about this new COVID-19 variant. According to Dr. Oakeson, the CDC is predicting that the Nimbus variant makes up anywhere from 38-50% of the current COVID cases in the United States. He also said that we've seen it in Utah, through a handful of clinical cases, and it's been detected in wastewater. As we have seen with previous variants, new mutations have made the virus more transmissible. 'It's better at attaching to our cells and infecting our cells and making us sick, but it also has mutations as well that help us avoid our immune response, right?' Dr. Oakeson explained. 'It has ways of avoiding our antibodies that we have built up against COVID, either from vaccination or from infection.' Symptoms are similar to current COVID symptoms: cough, fatigue, fever, loss of taste and smell, etc., he said. Four measles cases now reported in Arizona, first of this year What can you do to protect yourself? Dr. Oakeson recommended the same measures people have been taking all along to protect themselves against COVID. 'If you're not feeling well, stay in bed, rest up. If you have to go out and you're going to be in large places, put a mask on,' Dr Oakeson said. 'We know these N95, these surgical masks do a good job at helping prevent spread of respiratory viruses.' She also recommended getting a COVID booster if you haven't yet. 'If you got one last fall, and depending on your health status, you're probably okay. There are recommendations for people that are immunosuppressed or immunocompromised to get boosters more often,' he explained. If you haven't gotten a booster in the past year, Dr. Oakeson said that it's probably time to go out and get one. The formulation of the newest booster will provide some protection against the new variant, he said. From a public health perspective, Dr. Oakeson said that the biggest concern is a summer surge, where large groups of people would be infected, putting pressure on hospital systems. 'We tend to see COVID come in waves, you know, in the summer and then again in the winter, so we're keeping an eye out to see how that wave crests here as cases start increasing,' he said. New Nimbus COVID-19 variant — What you need to know Wildfire burns 1500 acres in France Canyon in Garfield County, not contained Judge blocks Trump's National Guard deployment in Los Angeles Rubio: US 'not involved' in Israel's strike inside Iran Highland man threatened to kill his wife and himself with rifle over financial dispute, charges say Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Novavax's COVID-Flu Combo Shot Shows Strong Immune Response
Novavax NVAX announced encouraging results from an initial cohort of a late-stage study evaluating its experimental COVID-19-influenza combination (CIC) and stand-alone influenza vaccine candidates. Results showed that the CIC and flu vaccines generated 'robust immune responses' across three flu strains (H1N1, H3N2 and B) and the SARS-CoV-2 strain in adults aged 65 and older. Per Novavax, these responses were similar to those seen with its own approved COVID-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid, and Sanofi's SNY influenza vaccine, Fluzone HD. Novavax emphasized that this study was not designed to demonstrate statistical significance but to provide preliminary immunogenicity data. It intends to use these findings to design another late-stage study, which could potentially support regulatory submissions, if successful. NVAX is also exploring strategic collaborations to finance further development and potential commercialization of both candidates. This is part of the company's recent strategic shift focused on expanding its pipeline and exploring partnership opportunities for the same. Shares of Novavax have underperformed the industry year to date, as seen in the chart below. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The above announcement came just under a month after it received the long-awaited FDA approval for Nuvaxovid, albeit with a narrower label than initially expected. While the agency granted full approval to the vaccine for use in older adults aged 65 and above, it restricted the use in individuals aged 12-64 with at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19. This latest approval aligns with the FDA's recently issued guidance for COVID-19 vaccine boosters. As part of this guidance, COVID vaccine makers will be required to conduct randomized, placebo-controlled clinical studies demonstrating the real-world benefit of yearly COVID vaccine boosters in individuals aged under 65 years. Starting this year, Sanofi has acquired exclusive rights to market Nuvaxovid globally, except in certain territories where Novavax maintains existing partnership agreements. This arrangement is part of a multi-billion-dollar deal signed last year, wherein Sanofi assumed commercial responsibility for the vaccine. The company is also eligible for ongoing tiered royalties on future sales of COVID-19 vaccines. Apart from Novavax, Pfizer PFE and Moderna MRNA are also developing their respective COVID/flu combination vaccines using mRNA technology. Despite the recent regulatory setback, Moderna remains ahead of its competitors with the development of its investigational COVID-19/flu vaccine candidate, mRNA-1083. Moderna had to voluntarily withdraw its FDA filing for mRNA-1083 to accommodate the agency's request for additional efficacy data on the flu component of the vaccine. Moderna intends to resubmit the filing later this year. Pfizer suffered a major setback in this space last year when it reported data from a phase III study on its investigational mRNA-based COVID-19/flu combination vaccine. The study missed one of its two primary immunogenicity objectives. Pfizer is currently evaluating adjustments to its combination vaccine program to improve immune responses against influenza B and plans to discuss the next steps with health authorities. Pfizer is developing this vaccine in collaboration with BioNTech. Novavax's deal with Sanofi also allows the latter to combine its own influenza vaccines with Nuvaxovid. Sanofi is currently testing multiple COVID-19/flu combination vaccine candidates under this arrangement. Last year, the FDA granted fast-track designation to two of Sanofi's experimental combination vaccines, both being evaluated in separate phase I/II studies. While the first combination uses the Fluzone HD vaccine with Nuvaxovid, the second pairs Novavax's COVID-19 shot with Flubok. Novavax, Inc. price | Novavax, Inc. Quote Novavax currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sanofi (SNY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Pfizer Inc. (PFE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Novavax, Inc. (NVAX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research