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VOLUME 120 - ISSUE 14

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2025

Not officially associated with the University of Florida

Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

UF researchers pessimistic after federal vaccine funding cuts OVER $500 MILLION IN CUTS POSE A THREAT TO MRNA VACCINE RESEARCH

By Angelique Rodriguez Alligator Staff Writer

Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff

Ole Miss safety Sage Ryan (3) tries to intercept a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Oxford, Miss. Find this story in Sports on pg. 11.

The Florence Landfill is set to close in 9 months. Activists want it gone sooner.

The change has been years in the making By Grace Larson Alligator Staff Writer

Florence Landfill is set to close next fall. But members of the “Dump the Dump” movement want it done faster. The landfill, located in southeast Gainesville, a historically Black

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT

Clubs Story description finish with comma, UF pg# rowing connects alumni across generations. Read more on pg. 11.

and low-income area, has been the subject of controversy for years. Nearby residents have been fighting the landfill since 2018, expressing environmental concerns over air quality and the purity of local water sources. The landfill’s special-use permit expired in 2024, but at the same time,

a 2022 state-issued emergency order extended closure until August 2026. Now, many residents’ wishes will come to fruition as the dump is set to close for good in nine months. For many local activists, it's hard to separate the issue from what

SEE LANDFILL, PAGE 4

Student life

Federal funding cuts to vaccine research have impacted scientists nationwide — and some of those cuts hit close to home. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wrote in an Aug. 5 press release it would “wind-down” mRNA development and research after a “comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.” The order targeted the HHS sector that contracts with universities and pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, ModeX and Moderna. Twenty-two mRNA vaccine developments under the sector were terminated, according to the release. Most COVID-19 vaccines are made with mRNA. Unlike other vaccines, which use weakened or dead bacteria or viruses, mRNA vaccines work by instructing the body to make a specific protein. The proteins trigger immune responses without exposing the recipient to the actual virus. While some final-stage contracts will be allowed to see their project through completion, no new mRNA-

related research programs will begin, effective Aug. 5, 2025. The cuts affect $500 million worth of mRNA research and development. Trump-appointed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said data suggests mRNA vaccines don’t protect people from upper respiratory infections, like COVID-19 and the flu. “Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” Kennedy said in a news release. “That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions.” The news release did not specify which “better solutions” the HHS would be investing in. A known vaccine skeptic, Kennedy said the COVID-19 vaccine is the “deadliest vaccine ever made” in a Dec. 6, 2021, meeting with Louisiana lawmakers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he filed a petition to the Food and Drug Administration to cease the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, although it had already saved about 140,000 lives in the U.S. Dr. Elias Sayour, a UF pediatric oncologist and RNA researcher, is developing vaccines that reprogram the immune system to fight cancer — including pediatric cancer — and he’s carried out a multitude of mRNA-based research projects. Sayour’s cancer vaccine

SEE MRNA, PAGE 4

‘Severance’ actress Britt Lower speaks to students, pg. 2

Education

State board grills Alachua County schools, pg. 5

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