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Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Trump's Ex-Surgeon General Attacks Vaccine Cuts: 'People Are Going To Die'
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's former Surgeon General Jerome Adams has warned that "people are going to die" if the United States cuts funding for mRNA vaccine development. It comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last week that his department would terminate 22 Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) investments in mRNA vaccine development, representing nearly $500 million in federal funding. He said the decision was taken after reviews showed mRNA vaccines "failed protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu." Newsweek contacted the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for comment via email outside of regular working hours. Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams speaking at the White House in April 2020. Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams speaking at the White House in April 2020. AP Why It Matters Kennedy has been a longtime vaccine critic, and questioned their effectiveness on numerous occasions. His tenure as the head of HHS has seen top vaccine experts, food safety supervisors and other public-health officials either resign or be ousted. The 22 projects are led by major pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, and aim to develop vaccines against the flu, COVID-19 and H5N1. mRNA technology, which underpins these vaccines, is widely credited with helping slow the spread of the coronavirus during the 2020 pandemic. Infectious-disease specialists have also warned that future pandemics will be harder to stop without the help of mRNA. What To Know Adams, who served in Trump's first administration, said in an interview with CBS News on Sunday that mRNA technology accelerated vaccine development by an estimated 18 to 24 months. He added that "by the most conservative estimates, at least 2 million lives were saved" during the pandemic because of mRNA vaccines. "It's a natural molecule that's in all of our bodies. It's like a recipe card that tells your body how to make a protein," he said. "And this new idea, again, helps us develop vaccines and new treatments for everything from cancer, melanoma - which my wife has - to HIV, to better flu vaccines." He added: "These are advances that are not going to happen now... people are going to die because we're cutting short funding for this technology." Several other infectious disease experts have also spoken out against Kennedy's decision. Rick Bright, the former director of BARDA, said on X: "A bad day for science, and huge blow to our national security. This decision will have dangerous repercussions." Dr. Thomas A. Russo, an expert in infectious diseases, told Newsweek that Kennedy's decision was "shortsighted," and said mRNA vaccines "will be critical when the next, inevitable infectious diseases crisis rears its ugly head." What People Are Saying RFK Jr. said on X last week: "We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted. 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." Infectious diseases expert Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, who specializes in pandemic preparedness, told Newsweek: "RFK's actions are completely devoid of value. They are only designed to serve more distrust of a proven and valuable vaccine technology. The repercussions of this decision will serve only to diminish the resiliency of the United States, and the world, to infectious disease threats." What Happens Next In his statement, Kennedy urged the department to shift from mRNA vaccines and "invest in better solutions," but did not specify alternatives. Lawmakers, public-health officials, and industry leaders are expected to press HHS for detailed timelines and alternative research investments options.
The Hill
16 hours ago
- Health
- The Hill
Former Surgeon General on HHS cancelling vaccine research: ‘Over 2 million lives have been saved because of mRNA technology'
Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Sunday pushed back against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently winding down its mRNA vaccine development activities via the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). 'I want to ask you about health policy because days earlier, Secretary Kennedy made an announcement that the U.S. is halting $500 million for vaccine research into that technology known as mRNA. You're very familiar with it because it was used during Operation Warp Speed to very quickly get that COVID vaccine,' CBS's Margaret Brennan said on 'Face the Nation.' 'Secretary Kennedy said, though, mRNA vaccines, quote, 'don't work against upper respiratory infections.' Do you know what he means? And what does stopping this research do for pandemic preparations?' she added. 'Well, that's simply not true. We know that — that by the most conservative estimates over two million lives have been saved because of mRNA technology. It helped us develop COVID-19 vaccines in record time. And it's, quite frankly, President Trump's greatest achievement,' Adams replied. HHS announced last Tuesday that it was winding down the BARDA mRNA vaccine development activities. 'We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,' HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a previous statement. The reduction of the mRNA vaccine development activities features the ending of contracts with a total worth of nearly $500 million. '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,' Kennedy said.
CBS News
a day ago
- Health
- CBS News
Former Trump surgeon general says "people are going to die" after RFK Jr. halts some mRNA vaccine research
Former Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams — who served during the first Trump administration — argued Sunday that "people are going to die" if the U.S. backs away from mRNA vaccine development, after Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. halted around $500 million in research funding. Kennedy announced last week that the administration was canceling 22 mRNA vaccine development projects, saying the vaccines "fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu." The projects were funded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA. Kennedy said the funds would be shifted toward "safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate." Adams, who appeared Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," said Kennedy's assertions about the efficacy of mRNA vaccines are "simply not true" — citing their effectiveness in the COVID-19 pandemic, during which hundreds of millions of people took Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA vaccines. "We know that by the most conservative estimates, upward of 2 million lives have been saved because of mRNA technology," Adams said. "It helped us develop COVID-19 vaccines in record time. And it's, quite frankly, President Trump's greatest achievement." The mRNA technology was central to Operation Warp Speed, a public-private partnership aimed at quickly developing COVID-19 vaccines at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic near the end of Mr. Trump's first term. If the U.S. had relied on older vaccine technology, it could have taken an extra 18 to 24 months to develop COVID-19 shots, Adams said. Asked about Kennedy's move by CBS News earlier this week, Mr. Trump said, "Operation Warp Speed was, whether you're Republican or a Democrat, considered one of the most incredible things ever done in this country," while noting that he had upcoming meetings on the topic. Adams, who was involved in the Operation Warp Speed effort, said it's "fascinating" to him that, as Mr. Trump and his allies discuss whether he deserves a Nobel Prize, "the thing that he should be considered for the Nobel Prize for, his health secretary is trying to undermine." The former surgeon general explained that mRNA is a type of natural molecule that's present in the body and operates like a "recipe card that tells your body how to make a protein." Beyond COVID-19, Adams said the technology "helps us develop vaccines and new treatments" in other areas — from cancers and HIV to the flu and the Zika virus. The funding cuts could halt progress in one of the "most promising areas of modern medicine," the former surgeon general said. "These are advances that are not going to happen now," Adams said. "People are going to die because we're cutting short funding for this technology." Adams also criticized Kennedy for his response to a shooting outside Centers for Disease Control and Prevention buildings in Atlanta on Friday. Investigators have been looking into possible motives, including the possibility that the suspect believed he was sick as a result of the COVID vaccine, multiple sources told CBS News. "How you respond to a crisis defines a leader. Quite frankly, Secretary Kennedy has failed in his first major test in this regard," Adams said, accusing Kennedy of issuing "tepid response" to the shooting, while adding, "and that's not even considering how his inflammatory rhetoric in the past have actually contributed to a lot of what's been going on." In a statement Friday, Kennedy said, "No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others." But Adams argued Kennedy has not "unequivocally condemned the violence." "There's an out there," Adams said. "If you don't believe that people are working to protect the public, then that means it's okay to commit violence, at least in some people's eyes." The former surgeon general said people at the CDC were calling him after the shooting asking him to make a public statement "because they felt under attack." "They didn't know if this was going to continue," Adams said. "They were scared, and they wanted someone, someone who they felt had a public voice, to go out there and say, 'This is wrong. Violence is wrong.'"
CBS News
a day ago
- Health
- CBS News
Ex-Trump surgeon general says RFK Jr.'s halt to mRNA vaccine research threatens "most promising areas of modern medicine"
Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams — who served during the first Trump administration — said Sunday that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr's halting of around $500 million dollars for mRNA vaccine research risks stalling progress in "many of the most promising areas of modern medicine." Kennedy announced last week that the administration was canceling 22 mRNA vaccine development projects, saying the vaccines "fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu." The projects were funded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA. Kennedy said the funds would be shifted toward "safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate." Adams, who appeared Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," said Kennedy's assertions about the efficacy of mRNA vaccines are "simply not true." "We know that by the most conservative estimates, upward of 2 million lives have been saved because of mRNA technology," Adams said. "It helped us develop COVID-19 vaccines in record time. And it's, quite frankly, President Trump's greatest achievement." The mRNA technology was central to Operation Warp Speed, a public-private partnership aimed at quickly developing COVID-19 vaccines at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic near the end of Mr. Trump's first term. If the U.S. had relied on older vaccine technology, it could have taken an extra 18 to 24 months to develop COVID-19 shots, Adams said. Asked about Kennedy's move by CBS News earlier this week, Mr. Trump said, "Operation Warp Speed was, whether you're Republican or a Democrat, considered one of the most incredible things ever done in this country," while noting that he had upcoming meetings on the topic. Adams, who was involved in the Operation Warp Speed effort, said it's "fascinating" to him that, as Mr. Trump and his allies discuss whether he deserves a Nobel Prize, "the thing that he should be considered for the Nobel Prize for, his health secretary is trying to undermine." The former surgeon general outlined that mRNA is a type of natural molecule that's present in the body and operates like a "recipe card that tells your body how to make a protein." He said the technology "helps us develop vaccines and new treatments" in other areas — from cancers to HIV to the flu and the Zika virus. "These are advances that are not going to happen now," Adams said. "People are going to die because we're cutting short funding for this technology." Adams also criticized Kennedy for his response to a shooting outside Centers for Disease Control and Prevention buildings in Atlanta on Friday. Investigators have been looking into possible motives, including the possibility that the suspect believed he was sick as a result of the COVID vaccine, multiple sources told CBS News. "How you respond to a crisis defines a leader. Quite frankly, Secretary Kennedy has failed in his first major test in this regard," Adams said, accusing Kennedy of issuing "tepid response" to the shooting, while adding, "and that's not even considering how his inflammatory rhetoric in the past have actually contributed to a lot of what's been going on." In a statement Friday, Kennedy said, "No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others." But Adams argued Kennedy has not "unequivocally condemned the violence." "There's an out there," Adams said. "If you don't believe that people are working to protect the public, then that means it's okay to commit violence, at least in some people's eyes." The former surgeon general said people at the CDC were calling him after the shooting asking him to make a public statement "because they felt under attack." "They didn't know if this was going to continue," Adams said. "They were scared, and they wanted someone, someone who they felt had a public voice, to go out there and say, 'This is wrong. Violence is wrong.'"
LeMonde
2 days ago
- Health
- LeMonde
US to partially pull funding for mRNA vaccines
The US administration waged a battle against messenger RNA (mRNA), despite promising research being conducted for various diseases. This technology was thrust into the spotlight during the Covid-19 pandemic, when it enabled the rapid rollout of effective vaccines. Gone are the days when Donald Trump, in December 2020 – at the end of his first term as US president – praised the effectiveness and swift development of this technology, calling it a "modern-day miracle." On Tuesday, August 5, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched a full-scale attack against it. Known for his vaccine skepticism, he announced the end of funding for projects related to the research and development of messenger RNA vaccines backed by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the US government agency for public health emergency and pandemic preparedness. "We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted," RFK Jr. said in a statement, asserting that the "data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu." In a video posted on the social network X, he went further, claiming that "mRNA technology poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses."
