HHS has canceled several grants worth millions of dollars it had awarded to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The Washington Post broke the news Dec. 17, reporting that HHS abruptly sunset seven grants this week. In an email with Becker’s, an HHS spokesperson confirmed the decision.
“These grants, previously awarded to the American Academy of Pediatrics, were canceled along with a number of other grants to other organizations because they no longer align with the Department’s mission or priorities,” the spokesperson said.
The grants covered projects for reducing sudden infant death, preventing fetal alcohol syndrome, improving adolescent health and early autism detection, according to the Post.
Becker’s has asked HHS for clarity on the affected grants and organizations and will update this article should more information become available. The American Academy of Pediatrics did not immediately respond to request for comment.
“The sudden withdrawal of these funds will directly impact and potentially harm infants, children, youth and their families in communities across the United States,” Mark Del Monte, CEO and executive vice president of AAP, told the Post.
In recent months, the academy has published numerous criticisms and made several swerves in response to HHS actions, including issuing a COVID-19 vaccine guidance different from the CDC’s and rebuking the federal health data pause earlier this year. The academy recently labeled the CDC’s revised hepatitis B guidance as “irresponsible and purposely misleading.”
Academy leaders said they are considering a legal challenge to the grant funding removal.
Read more here.
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