Trump’s NIH Chief Vows Pandemic Playbook Overhaul, Vaccine Injury Center

Trump’s NIH Chief Vows Pandemic Playbook Overhaul, Vaccine Injury Center

Trump 's National Institutes of Health director, Jay Bhattacharya, outlines a ban on gain-of-function research, a new pandemic playbook and a vaccine injury center in a broadcast interview.

Richard Miniter
First Published: August 2, 2026, 3:31 AM ET

Donald J. Trump amplified sweeping changes at the National Institutes of Health, the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, as his new director laid out a ban on high-risk pathogen research and a fresh pandemic playbook.