NIH blocks access for researchers in China, Macau included

Trump’s administration this week blocked access to National Institutes of Health (NIH) data repositories for researchers in several countries. Affected regions include mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela. The NIH cited concerns over health and genomics data as the reason for the prohibition, impacting controlled-access data repositories (CADRs) that include information on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and mental health disorders. The ban is, as reported by Fierce Biotech, linked to a February 2024 executive order signed by former US president Joe Biden to restrict foreign access to sensitive US health data.