RFK Jr. pulls major funding for vaccine development

The Department of Health and Human Services is cancelling 22 contracts and pulling $500 million that was going to develop vaccines that use mRNA technology. The vaccines targeted respiratory illnesses including COVID-19 and the flu.

The announcement was made by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Tuesday.

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts and acted,” he posted on his official X account Tuesday. “BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”

BARDA is the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority in HHS, which oversees vaccine projects.

In the video included in the X post, Kennedy said that instead, “we’re prioritizing the development of safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don’t collapse when viruses mutate.”

It’s the latest in a series of moves that seem to align with the doubts Kennedy has expressed about vaccines over the years, including well before he was appointed to head the nation’s public health infrastructure.

Deseret News earlier reported that the guidance on vaccines under Kennedy has changed drastically and he fired the panel that recommends vaccine policy, replacing the entire group with his own picks.

In May, he canceled a contract that would have given Moderna close to $600 million to develop a bird flu vaccine.

And he removed healthy children and pregnant women from the list of those for whom COVID-19 vaccines are recommended.

Despite that, Kennedy said in a statement, “Let me be absolutely clear, HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them.”

Fast mRNA technology

The Associated Press explained the mRNA technology this way: “Traditionally, vaccines have required growing pieces of viruses, often in chicken eggs or giant vats of cells, then purifying that material. The mRNA approach starts with a snippet of genetic code that carries instructions for making proteins. Scientists pick the protein to target, inject that blueprint and the body makes just enough to trigger immune protection — producing its own vaccine dose.“

The New York Times noted that “unlike traditional vaccines, which can take years to develop and test, mRNA shots can be made within months and quickly altered as the virus changes. The technology won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2023.”

Pushback on announcement

Kennedy said the mRNA vaccines don’t do well against upper-respiratory infections, which drew immediate pushback from scientists.

Calling the statement “wildly incorrect,” Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, told the Times that millions more would have died during the COVID pandemic “had we not used these lifesaving mRNA vaccines to protect against severe illness.”

The AP article also rounded up criticism of Kennedy’s decision.

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told AP the move was short-sighted, with concerns about a bird flu pandemic looming. Existing mRNA vaccines, he noted “saved millions of lives” during COVID-19. Offit told the BBC that cancelling the funding would place the U.S. in a “more dangerous” position to counter any future pandemic, since mRNA technology makes development of a vaccine faster and has proven to be safe and effective.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,” Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, told AP.