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Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Health
- Toronto Sun
RFK Jr.'s war on mRNA vaccines breeds distrust, threatens Canada's access to development: Experts
Published Aug 08, 2025 • 1 minute read U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Capitol Hill on May 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Canadian doctors and scientists say Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s defunding of mRNA vaccine development projects will have negative health effects in Canada and around the world. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account University of Saskatchewan virologist Angela Rasmussen says unlike other vaccines, mRNA vaccines can be made very quickly and easily modified to fight new viruses and adapt to changing strains. Rasmussen and other medical experts say that ability is critical as the world prepares for H5N1 bird flu as a possible next pandemic. Canada Research Chair in Viral Pandemics Matthew Miller says the U.S. is one of the largest funders of medical research in the world and defunding mRNA vaccine research will likely stall development and threaten Canada's access to vital vaccine technology. Calgary pediatric infectious diseases specialist Dr. Cora Constantinescu says Kennedy's false claims that mRNA vaccines are unsafe and ineffective will cause a 'vaccine confidence crisis' on both sides of the border. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She says that disinformation can also affect people's views of non-mRNA vaccines — something that's especially dangerous right now when both Canada and the U.S. are seeing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles. On Aug. 5, Kennedy announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was halting funding for 22 mRNA vaccine projects worth nearly US$500 million. In May, Kennedy cancelled funding for Moderna's development of a pandemic influenza vaccine. A spokesperson for Moderna Canada said in an email Thursday that the company is 'continuing to explore alternatives for advancing our H5N1 program, consistent with our global commitment to pandemic preparedness.' Both Pfizer Canada and Moderna Canada confirmed to The Canadian Press on Thursday that the U.S. backing away from mRNA vaccines should not affect availability of their updated COVID-19 vaccines in Canada this fall. For more health news and content around diseases, conditions, wellness, healthy living, drugs, treatments and more, head to – a member of the Postmedia Network. Toronto Blue Jays Editorials Tennis Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA
The Hill
31-07-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Watch live: Senate convenes hearing on health care affordability
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) is holding a hearing Thursday morning how to lower health care costs. The hearing comes less than a month after President Trump signed the ' big, beautiful bill ' into law, which included the largest updates to Medicaid since the program began in the 1960s. The legislation's provisions will also impact patients, doctors, hospitals, and insurers, as Republicans partially paid for it by cutting more than $1 trillion from federal health programs. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the top Democrat on the HELP Committee, has been an outspoken critic of the GOP's massive spending and tax package, arguing it could cause 'thousands and thousands' of low-income and working-class people's deaths. The event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT. Watch the live video above.
09-07-2025
- Health
Senate committee advances Trump's pick for CDC director ahead of confirmation vote
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) voted to advance Susan Monarez's nomination as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday. The panel voted along party lines 12-11. Monarez is the first CDC director nominee to require a Senate confirmation after Congress passed a law requiring it in 2022. If confirmed, Monarez will be the first CDC director without a medical degree since 1953. Ahead of the vote, in opening remarks, Ranking Member Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., accused Monarez of allowing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to spread misinformation about vaccines. "In my view, we need a CDC director who will defend science, protect public health and repudiate Secretary Kennedy's dangerous conspiracy theories about effective vaccines that have saved, over the years, millions of lives," Sanders said. Monarez was named acting CDC director in January, stepping down after she was nominated for the position in March. It came after President Donald Trump's first pick, Dr. David Weldon, had his nomination pulled by the White House due to a lack of votes. Weldon was expected to be grilled on his past comments questioning vaccine safety, such as falsely suggesting vaccines are linked to autism. Monarez has worked in both the public and private sector -- including working in the government under former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as during Trump's first term. Her work has included strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance. During her confirmation hearing last month, Monarez expressed support for vaccines, in contrast with Kennedy, who has expressed some skepticism. "I think vaccines save lives. I think that we need to continue to support the promotion of utilization of vaccines," Monarez said. While Kennedy has previously cited vaccines as a potential reason behind rising rates of autism diagnoses, Monarez said she did not hold the same view. "I have not seen a causal link between vaccines and autism," Monarez said when asked by Sanders last month if she agrees with the American Medical Association's stance "that there is no scientific proven link between vaccines and autism." While the CDC director role has been vacant, Kennedy has had final say over some CDC decisions, such as ending recommendations for children and pregnant women to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Additionally, Kennedy recently removed all 17 sitting members of the CDC's Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP), an independent panel that provides recommendations on vaccines to the CDC, and replaced them with seven hand-selected members -- some of whom have expressed vaccine-skeptic views. Public health professionals previously told ABC News that, traditionally, only a CDC director would be able to reconstitute ACIP.
The Hill
09-07-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Trump's CDC nominee advances on party-line vote in Senate
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted along party lines Wednesday to advance President Trump's nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The panel voted 12-11 to advance the nomination of Susan Monarez to be the next CDC director. 'The United States needs a CDC director who makes decisions rooted in science, a leader who reformed the agency and worked to restore public trust in health institutions with decades of proven experience as a public health official, Dr. Monarez is ready to take on this challenge,' said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the HELP committee. 'She is committed to improving transparency the CDC and properly communicating health guidance to the American people.' Monarez, a scientist in the federal service for nearly 20 years, sat for a confirmation hearing last month. She was careful to not discredit scientific consensus while also not breaking with either Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or President Trump. She served as acting CDC director prior to her nomination in March . When asked if she disagreed with Kennedy on anything, Monarez avoided directly answering, saying she looked forward to 'supporting the secretary with science and evidence.' For Democrats on the HELP committee, Monarez did not establish enough daylight between herself and Kennedy's divisive and at times unfounded views. 'Under her watch the Trump administration has illegally delayed or canceled $11 billion in public health funding to fight infectious disease and to prepare for the next pandemic; urged important public health data from the website that scientists need to respond to disease outbreaks; and fire scientists who focus on worker safety, the health of mothers and children, birth defects, disabilities, smoking cessation and HIV prevention,' HELP Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said when explaining his vote against Monarez. 'In my view, we need a CDC director who will defend science, protect public health, repudiate Secretary Kennedy's dangerous conspiracy theories about safe and effective vaccines that have saved over the years millions of lives,' added Sanders. 'Unfortunately, after reviewing her record, I do not believe that Dr. Monarez sees that person.' HELP Democrat Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) lamented that the committee was not fulfilling its duty to carry out oversight over Kennedy and major health issues like the ongoing measles outbreak. She argued having the 'best CDC director in the world' would make no difference with Kennedy in power and the committee not keeping him in check. 'I really do hope that Dr. Monarez will defy my expectations. I hope she will stand up for science and put public health first. But again, I hope that for others and here we are today,' said Murray.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. faces blowback from senators, former vaccine committee members after firings
Recently fired members of a committee that advises the federal government on immunization safety lashed out at Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying that their terminations will limit access to vaccines and put American lives at risk. Kennedy last week abruptly dismissed all members of the committee, which advises the Centers for Diseases Control on vaccine safety. Two days after he dissolved the committee on June 9, Kennedy named eight new members to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, including some who have advocated against vaccines. "We are deeply concerned that these destabilizing decisions, made without clear rationale, may roll back the achievements of U.S. immunization policy, impact people's access to lifesaving vaccines, and ultimately put U.S. families at risk of dangerous and preventable illnesses,' the 17 former members wrote in an article published in medical journal JAMA on June 16. The ACIP charter specifies that committee members serve overlapping terms to ensure continuity - and dismissing all the members at the same time 'have stripped the program of the institutional knowledge and continuity that have been essential to its success over decades,' wrote the members, whose committee recommendations also affect insurance coverage and safeguard broad access for vaccines. In announcing his decision to oust the members, Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, claimed a 'clean sweep' was necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science. The committee would 'no longer function as a rubber stamp for industry profit-taking agendas,' he said. That was the opposite of what Kennedy told Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, during his confirmation hearing to become Trump's cabinet member. "If confirmed, he will maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without changes," Cassidy said during the hearing. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions called for an immediate bipartisan investigation into the terminations. 'For decades, Secretary Kennedy has spread lies and dangerous conspiracy theories about safe and effective vaccines that have saved millions of lives,' Sanders wrote in a letter to Cassidy. 'Unfortunately, since he has been confirmed I am very concerned that Secretary Kennedy is doubling down on his war on science and disinformation campaign that will lead to preventable illness and death.' Additionally, 22 senators, including Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, wrote a joint letter to Kennedy saying they are 'troubled' by the appointment of several members to the committee who have a 'documented history of anti-vaccine ideology and peddling misinformation.' Dr. Robert Malone, one of the new Kenendy appointees is a virologist and vaccine skeptic who became well-known during the COVID-19 pandemic for spreading misinformation about the virus on conservative shows and podcasts. The physician-scientist and biochemist has falsely claimed spike proteins from COVID-19 mRNA vaccines often cause permanent damage to children's vital organs. Firing every member of the committee ahead of their next meeting scheduled for June 25-27 'eliminates the advisory board's ability to debate and make well-informed recommendations, putting American lives at risk,' the senators wrote. Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. faces blowback after vaccine committee firings
