The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is cutting or canceling more than 40 grants focused on vaccine hesitancy and ways to increase vaccine acceptance, according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.

The order covers more than 40 awards to researchers around the country seeking to understand why vaccine acceptance has declined.

The National Institutes of Health is terminating dozens of studies examining why people are hesitant about vaccines and how to increase uptake. mRNA vaccine research may be on the chopping block, too.

Some of terminated grants focused on boosting uptake in minority populations, with the cuts covering a range of vaccines.

It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize research activities that focuses gaining scientific knowledge on why individuals are hesitant to be vaccinated and/or explore ways to improve vaccine interest and commitment,

National Institutes of Health to cancel grants designed to study vaccine hesitancy: report - Reported rollback comes as Trump administration faces scrutiny for its handling of a measles outbreak among