RFK Jr. Makes Major Vaccine Announcement
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The Department of Health and Human Services will end funding and cancel contracts for a series of mRNA-based vaccines aimed at preventing respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, influenza and H5N1, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday.
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine critic, said $500 million in development projects — 22 in total — led by pharmaceutical giants including Pfizer and Moderna will be halted. The vaccines, which use mRNA technology credited with helping slow the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, were intended to bolster defenses against multiple respiratory threats. In his statement, Kennedy urged the department to move away from mRNA vaccines and "invest in better solutions," but did not specify what alternatives he envisions.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
FACT FOCUS: RFK Jr.'s reasons for cutting mRNA vaccine not supported by evidence
Although mRNA vaccines saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. incorrectly argued they are ineffective to justify the Department of Health and Human Service's recent decision to cancel $500 million in government-funded research projects to develop new vaccines using the technology. The longtime vaccine critic said in an X video posted Tuesday evening that mRNA vaccines do not adequately prevent upper respiratory infections such as COVID-19 and the flu, advocating instead for the development vaccines that use other processes. COVID-19 is the only virus for which real-world data on mRNA vaccine effectiveness is currently available, as mRNA vaccines for other diseases, including the flu, are still under development. The two scientists whose discoveries enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 won a Nobel Prize in 2023 for their work. Kennedy's claim ignores how mRNA vaccines work, according to experts. They prevent against severe infection and death, but cannot completely prevent an infection from occurring in the first place. Plus, years of research supports the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines that use mRNA technology. Here's a closer look at the facts. KENNEDY: 'As the pandemic showed us, mRNA vaccines don't perform well against viruses that infect the upper respiratory tract.' THE FACTS: His claim is contradicted by scientific evidence. Countless studies show that vaccinated individuals fare far better against COVID-19 infections than those who are unvaccinated, while others have estimated that COVID-19 vaccines prevented millions of deaths during the global pandemic. The mRNA vaccines do not prevent respiratory diseases entirely, experts say. Rather, they can prevent more serious illness that leads to complications and death. For example, an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 may prevent an infection in the upper respiratory tract that feels like a bad cold from spreading to the lower respiratory tract, where it could affect one's ability to breathe. 'A vaccine cannot block a respiratory infection,' said Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious diseases physician and clinical associate professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. 'That's never been the standard for a respiratory virus vaccine. And it's never been the expectation, and it's never been that realistic.' He called Kennedy's claim 'misguided.' Jeff Coller, a professor of RNA biology and therapeutics at Johns Hopkins University, had a similar outlook. 'Vaccinations don't have to be neutralizing, meaning that you're not going to get COVID,' he said. 'But the important part of a vaccination is that they reduce hospitalization and death. And a reduction in hospitalization and death is proof of an effective vaccine.' Vaccines have traditionally required growing viruses or pieces of viruses called proteins and then purifying them. Then a small dose of the vaccine is injected to train the body how to recognize when a real infection hits so it's ready to fight back. But this method takes a long time. The mRNA technology speeds up the process and allows existing vaccines to be updated more quickly. The 'm' in mRNA stands for messenger because the vaccine carries instructions for our bodies to make proteins. Scientists figured out how to harness that natural process for vaccines by making mRNA in a lab. They take a snippet of the genetic code that carries instructions for making the protein they want the vaccine to target. Injecting that snippet instructs the body to become its own mini-vaccine factory, making enough copies of the protein for the immune system to recognize and react. Scott explained that mRNA vaccines are not a 'magic force field' that the immune system can use to block an infection, as it can't detect whether a virus is nearby. It can only respond to a virus that has already entered the body. In the case of COVID-19, this means that the virus could cause an upper respiratory tract infection — a cold, essentially — but would be significantly less likely to cause more severe consequences elsewhere. Myriad studies on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines have been published since they first became available in late 2020. Although protection does wane over time, they provide the strongest barrier against severe infection and death. For example, a 2024 study by the World Health Organization found COVID-19 vaccines reduced deaths in the WHO's European region by at least 57%, saving more than 1.4 million lives since their introduction in December 2020. A 2022 study published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases found that nearly 20 million lives were saved by COVID-19 vaccines during their first year. Researchers used data from 185 countries to estimate that vaccines prevented 4.2 million COVID-19 deaths in India, 1.9 million in the United States, 1 million in Brazil, 631,000 in France and 507,000 in the United Kingdom. The main finding — that 19.8 million COVID-19 deaths were prevented — is based on estimates of how many more deaths than usual occurred during the time period. Using only reported COVID-19 deaths, the same model yielded 14.4 million deaths averted by vaccines. Another 2022 study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, reported that two mRNA vaccines were more than 90% effective against COVID-19. Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to facilitate the development and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, began under the first Trump administration. 'What I don't understand is why is President Trump is allowing RFK Jr. to undermine his legacy that led to a medical intervention that literally saved millions of lives?' Coller said. 'Why is Trump allowing RFK to undermine U.S. leadership in biomedical research and drug development?' ___ Find AP Fact Checks here: Solve the daily Crossword
Newsweek
24 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Trump Brushes Off Major Success From First Term: 'Long Time Ago'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump on Wednesday brushed off what is widely considered to be among the biggest uncontested successes of his first term while reacting to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s move to pull $500 million in funding for next-generation mRNA-based vaccines to tackle viruses like Covid, H5N1 and the flu. "You were the driving force behind Operation Warp Speed, these mRNA vaccines that are the gold standard," a reporter asked Trump during a White House event on Wednesday. Operation Warp Speed was a 2020 public-private partnership, initiated by the first Trump administration, aimed at accelerating the development and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. At the time, it was almost universally accepted that an effective vaccine for the coronavirus was at least 18 months to two years away. Trump's operation did it in less than a year. "Now, your health secretary is pulling back all the funding for research, he's saying that the risks outweigh the benefits, which puts him at odds with the entire medical community, and with you," the reporter continued. "What's going on?" "Research on what?" Trump asked. "Into mRNA vaccines," she clarified. "Well, we're going to look at that," the president replied. "We're talking about it and they're doing a very good job, and you know, that is a pass." Trump went on to briefly acknowledge the success of Operation Warp Speed before dismissing it. "Operation Warp Speed was, whether you're a Republican or Democrat, considered one of the most incredible things ever done in this country," the president said. "The efficiency, the way it was done, the distribution, everything about it has been amazing." Then he added: "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 ... we're looking for other answers to other problems, to other sicknesses and diseases and I think we're doing really well." This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
an hour ago
RFK Jr. cancels at least $500M in mRNA vaccine funding. What are the implications?
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced this week it is beginning a "coordinated wind-down" of federally funded mRNA vaccine development. This includes terminating awards and contracts with pharmaceutical companies and universities and canceling 22 investment projects worth nearly $500 million. While some final-stage contracts will be allowed to be completed, no new mRNA-based projects will be initiated, the HHS said. "We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted," Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a press release on Tuesday. "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." Infectious disease experts told ABC News that mRNA technology has been very successful in preventing severe disease, hospitalization and deaths, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially affecting our preparedness for future pandemics. Ending mRNA vaccine development may also squash enthusiasm for technology that has been hailed as a potential promise for cancer and HIV vaccines. "It's an excellent technology. It saved millions of lives and did it in a remarkably safe manner," Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told ABC News. "I think it's an unscientific move, a move that goes against existing science." Affecting future pandemic preparedness Last year, the federal government awarded Moderna $176 million to help expedite the development of an mRNA-based bird flu vaccine. Earlier this year, the vaccine manufacturer received an additional $590 million to speed up the development. However, in its press release, the HHS said it was cancelling the award, which has been issued by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, to Moderna and the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told ABC News the wind-down is a blow to pandemic preparedness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA technology demonstrated its ability to scale up vaccine production quickly. "The message to the companies will clearly be that they can no longer rely on the U.S. government for supporting any mRNA vaccine work, which is unfortunate, or even tragic, because the mRNA platform is one of the few that we have for pandemic threats in terms of something that we can make a vaccine for very quickly," he said. "So what, what Mr. Kennedy's and HHS' actions are doing is weakening our pandemic preparedness and weakening our biosecurity." The HHS also said it was terminating contracts with Emory University and Tiba Biotech. Researchers had been working on using mRNA technology to develop a nasal influenza vaccine. Emory has also been working on a dry powder inhaled mRNA-based treatment for influenza and COVID with TFF Pharmaceuticals, funded by BARDA. It's unclear if this is one of the 22 contracts that have been canceled. Hotez said COVID-19 and influenza can have very severe consequences and that it's incorrect for Kennedy to mischaracterize them as harmless upper respiratory infections. "COVID and flu are not [only] upper respiratory infections," he said. "The reason we develop vaccines for COVID and flu is because they cause systemic illness and lower respiratory infections and cardiovascular illness. … This is part of the anti-vaccine playbook, to diminish the severity of the illness, and to say something like influenza or COVID is an upper respiratory infection, it's just very, very misleading." Cancer vaccines, HIV treatments mRNA technology has also been hailed as a potential vector for providing personalized cancer treatments and protection against HIV transmission. In February, a small preliminary study published in the journal Nature found a personalized mRNA vaccine may reduce the risks of pancreatic cancer returning after surgery. Additionally, a University of Florida study found an experimental mRNA vaccine paired with anticancer drugs boosted an anti-tumor response. Meanwhile, earlier this month, an early-stage clinical trial found two mRNA vaccine candidates triggered a strong immune response against HIV. Results from the trial showed that 80% of participants who received one of two vaccine candidates produced antibodies. Although antiretroviral therapy has been the standard treatment for HIV infection, and is effective in preventing transmission, it is hard to scale up worldwide due to its costs, making mRNA vaccines to be anti-HIV vaccine strategy, researchers from the U.S., Germany and Romania wrote in a commentary in June 2022. It's unclear if any of the BARDA contracts are specifically for cancer vaccines or HIV vaccine development, but Hotez said the real damage is denigrating mRNA technology. "What he's done is he's caused uncertainty among the American people about the safety and effectiveness of mRNA for any condition, including cancer," he said. "And in fact, mRNA technology is probably the most exciting technology we have now for cancer and also other non-communicable illnesses. … Even though he may not be canceling any cancer vaccine contracts through BARDA, it may have collateral deleterious in terms of squashing enthusiasm for the technology." Offit added that mRNA is not brand-new technology. mRNA was discovered independently by two teams in 1961, including French and American molecular biologists. Breakthroughs in developing mRNA vaccines began in the early 2000s, eventually leading to the development of COVID-19 vaccines in 2020. This makes the technology primed for being used in other avenues, such as cancer vaccines, Offit said. "We now know a lot about mRNA," he said. "We know a lot about its safety. We know a lot about its safety in young children, including babies. We know a lot about it regarding gene therapy. We know a lot about this safety in terms of pregnant people, where that's often not the case with new technology." Offit went on, "So you have this background of information that enables you to move forward in a number of areas, involving babies or involving pregnant women. But there was an attempt by this administration to squelch that, to sit on all that for no good reason other than a political reason."
