The exact figure was first reported by NBC News and confirmed by a government spokesperson; however, it directionally aligns with an avalanche of grant terminations on doge.gov, where the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) posts its “wall of receipts” of savings across the federal government. Doge.gov was updated 24 MAR 2025 with approximately 1,285 grant terminations under the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), dated 23 MAR 2025.
Termination notices were sent out 24 MAR 2025 and funds were used for testing, vaccination, and global projects. They also went toward the Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities program and a program designed to address COVID-19-related “health disparities.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” said a HHS spokesperson. “HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again. Although some cancelled grants did not scratch seven figures, other cancellations listed are valued up to $877 million, like one at the Texas Department of State Health Services. A spokesperson for the states of Texas and New York said the potential effects are still being evaluated.
Fierce Healthcare sifted through grant cuts, keeping track of all terminations totaling $10 million or more. We found $7.5 billion in grants cancelled to states and major cities and are working to confirm how services will be impacted. No information is provided on these postings besides a description that says, “…No description available…”
California lost five (5) grants for approximately $709 million. These grants are used for COVID-19-related efforts and other outbreak responses, states say. “The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has received notice from the CDC that it intends to immediately end state and local public health funding awarded during COVID-19 that supports respiratory virus monitoring, testing and response, immunizations and vaccines for children, and health disparities efforts,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Erica Pan, M.D., in a provided statement. “This funding supports the public health work and data systems improved during the pandemic that helped California fill gaps in its existing public health infrastructure, including ongoing response to COVID-19 disease and other respiratory and vaccine-preventable diseases that require similar resources. We are working to evaluate the impact of these actions.”
“Though the affected grants include non-expended and unobligated funds, there will be impacts to current staffing and ongoing projects that these grants currently fund,” said the Virginia Department of Health in an e-mail. “VDH is working to assess the exact impacts that these changes will have and will be communicating to affected staff and partner organizations.”
Universities and research centers continue to see grant cuts as well, following in the footsteps of research cuts at Columbia University, which have already spurred legal challenges. The latest cuts to these entities total more than $1 billion and target the nonprofit Research Triangle Institute, the International Fertility Research Program, Duke University, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and more.
REFERENCE: Fierce Healthcare; 26 MAR 2025; Noah Tong