Top NIH Official: Budget Cuts Not to Blame for Lack of Ebola Vaccine

The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said on Sunday that budget cuts are not to blame for the Obama administration’s failure to produce an Ebola vaccine.

“You can’t say that. I think you can’t say we would or would not have this or that. Everything is slowed down, but I wouldn’t make that statement,” said National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief Dr. Anthony Fauci on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.

Fauci added, “I won’t agree with that. I have to tell you quite honestly, I think the NIH has had constraints in resources for ten years, and all the biomedical research has been less than its robust activity.”

Fauci’s comments contradict those made by NIH chief Dr. Francis Collins, who told the Huffington Post: “Frankly, if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would’ve gone through clinical trials and would have been ready.”