Trump's ex-surgeon general slams RFK Jr.'s vaccine cuts: 'People are going to die'
President Donald Trump's former surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, has a stark warning about the potential ramifications of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceling funding for mRNA vaccine development.
"People are going to die because we're cutting short funding for this technology," Adams said in a CBS interview Aug. 10.
Adams served from 2017 through the end of Trump's first term, when the administration helped develop mRNA vaccines to combat COVID-19 through Operation Warp Speed. Adams described the initiative as Trump's greatest achievement "bar none" and said it's concerning that his administration is turning away from the mRNA technology.
Messenger RNA, or mRNA, is used in the two most common COVID-19 vaccines licensed in the United States. Adams, citing other experts, said it would've taken 18 to 24 months longer to develop the vaccines without the technology.
"By the most conservative estimates, at least 2 million lives were saved," Adams said. "Many people say that up to 20 million lives were saved because of the vaccines."
In a video posted on X Aug. 5, Kennedy said the decision to cut funding for mRNA vaccine development will impact 22 projects worth nearly $500 million at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which helps companies develop medical supplies to address public health threats.
Kennedy called the vaccine technology "ineffective," which Adams said is "simply not true."
Kennedy is a long-time vaccine skeptic who has been making sweeping changes to reshape vaccines, food, and medicine policies as the nation's top public health official.
Adams also faulted Kennedy's response to the Aug. 8 shooting at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta that claimed the life of a police officer, saying his rhetoric about vaccines was "fanning the flames that lead to situations like we saw at the CDC."
Authorities identified Georgia resident Patrick Joseph White, 30, as the shooter. White's neighbor, Nancy Hoalst, told the New York Times that White believed vaccines had hurt him.
"We have to understand people are listening," Adams said of Kennedy's rhetoric. "And when you call the CDC a cesspool... when you make claims that have been proven false time and time again about safety and efficacy of vaccines, that can cause unintended consequences."
The Department of Health and Human Services didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about Adams' remarks. Kennedy said in an email to HHS staff Aug. 9 that the shooting "is a reminder of the very human challenges public servants sometimes face — even in places dedicated to healing and progress."
"But it also reinforces the importance of the work you do every day," he added.
Contributing: Adrianna Rodriguez and Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY; Reuters
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