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'More risks than benefits': RFK Jr shuts down $500 Million mRNA vaccine projects; programs credited with saving millions during Covid

'More risks than benefits': RFK Jr shuts down $500 Million mRNA vaccine projects; programs credited with saving millions during Covid

Time of India2 days ago
Secretary of health and human services Robert F Kennedy Jr (Image credits: AP)
US health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced Tuesday the US federal government is canceling around $500 million worth of vaccine development projects using mRNA technology.
The 22 terminated projects, funded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (Barda), included vaccine efforts for Covid-19, flu, and bird flu. They involved companies like Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, and Moderna.A Moderna spokesperson confirmed its bird flu contract was canceled in May and said the company is not aware of any new Barda cancellations.
'HHS has determined that mRNA technology poses more risk than benefits for these respiratory viruses,' Kennedy said as quoted by CBS News.
'A single mutation can make mRNA vaccines ineffective.'
He said the canceled funds will be redirected to 'safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.' 'Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,' he added.
mRNA vaccines, developed by Pfizer and Moderna during the Covid-19 pandemic, use messenger RNA to prompt the body to produce proteins that trigger immune responses.
Public health officials credit the technology with saving millions of lives.
The decision triggered strong criticism from public health experts and officials.
Dr Paul Offit, a virologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said Kennedy 'has once again made a decision, not based on scientific evidence that puts this country at unnecessary risk.'
Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician and chair of the Senate health committee, called the decision 'unfortunate' and said Kennedy is 'wasting the money which is already invested.'
'He has also conceded to China an important technology needed to combat cancer and infectious disease,' Cassidy said in a post on X.
On Wednesday, CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes asked US President Trump to comment, noting his role in launching Operation Warp Speed, which funded Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA vaccines.
'Everything about it has been amazing,' Trump replied. 'But you know, that was now a long time ago, and we're onto other things.
But we are speaking about it — we have meetings about it tomorrow ... we're looking for other answers to other problems, to other sicknesses and diseases.'
Since joining the Trump administration, Kennedy has fired members of a vaccine advisory panel and removed recommendations for children and healthy pregnant women to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. The CDC continues to advise that both groups may safely receive it.
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