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.

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 (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.