The U.S. government’s 2025 actions froze major research functions at the NIH and canceled more than $1.5 billion in grants, creating uncertainty for clinical trials, early‑career scientists, and academic hiring. Multiple research leaders described disruptions to grant reviews, hiring, and trial operations as substantial and potentially long‑lasting. In related policy news, reports indicate HHS is considering changes to the U.S. childhood immunization schedule that would align recommendations more closely with Denmark’s program and could remove several routine shots. Public‑health experts and infectious‑disease epidemiologists warned such changes could increase preventable disease risk. Both moves reflect an immediate policy shock to the biomedical ecosystem: curtailed federal funding and potential vaccine de‑prioritization that affect discovery pipelines, trial continuity, and population health planning.