President Donald Trump’s vaccine-bashing secretary of health and human services is canceling $500 million worth of vaccine projects that doctors say could be vital during the next pandemic.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services 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,” Kennedy said in a statement.
“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” said Kennedy, who recently replaced the independent experts on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel with a motley crew of anti-vaccine allies and activists.
His statement didn’t say which science was reviewed, which experts were consulted, or what those experts said.
The canceled projects include efforts by some of the nation’s leading pharmaceuticals companies to prevent and treat influenza, COVID-19 and H5B1 bird flu.
“Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them. That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions,” Kennedy said.
Peer-reviewed studies have found that the COVID-19 vaccine saved millions of lives, and the ground-breaking mRNA discoveries that led to its rapid development were awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Doctors immediately blasted Kennedy’s decision to abandon a medical breakthrough that is widely seen as Americans’ best hope against future pandemics.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,” Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, told the Associated Press.
Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious diseases specialist with Stanford University, said in a social media post that HHS was “abandoning the most adaptable, scalable vaccine platform we’ve ever had” and “undermining pandemic preparedness at a time when we can least afford it.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to HHS for comment.
Like all vaccines, mRNA vaccines work by training the body to recognize pathogens and create antibodies to fight them.
Traditional vaccines introduce a deactivated virus, a weakened virus or a piece of the virus’ protein to trigger the body’s immune response, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Messenger RNA vaccines don’t actually introduce any parts of the virus. Instead, they deliver an mRNA molecule that gives the body instructions to produce the virus’ protein, which in turn triggers the immune response and produces antibodies.
Their big advantage is that unlike traditional vaccines, which can take years to develop and test, mRNA shots can be made within months and can be quickly altered as the virus evolves, according to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations.
Many doctors also believe researchers are on the brink of massive breakthroughs in using mRNA technology to create vaccines that prevent cancer and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and lower remission rates for especially deadly cancers such as pancreatic cancer.
The HHS’s statement said that “other uses of mRNA technology within the department are not impacted by this announcement,” though it failed to provide specifics.
Researchers have worried for months that the Kennedy’s broadside attacks on mRNA technology could impede research into cancer as well as infectious diseases, The Guardian reported in July.
The HHS said Tuesday that its Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which oversees vaccine development, would focus platforms with “stronger safety records and transparent clinical and manufacturing data practices,” such as whole-virus vaccines.
That technology, however, is more than 100 years old. The U.S. hasn’t used a whole-cell vaccine for whooping cough, for example, since the 1990s because side effects included high fevers and seizures, The New York Times reported.
“After reviewing the science and consulting top experts at NIH and FDA, HHS has determined that mRNA technology poses more risk than benefits for these respiratory viruses,” Kennedy said in a video posted to social media.
Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, told the Times that by making false claims about mRNA, Kennedy was “demonstrating his commitment to his long-held goal of sowing doubts about all vaccines.”
For years, Kennedy has spread debunked conspiracy theories about vaccines, falsely claiming the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine causes autism, and that the COVID-19 vaccine is the “deadliest ever made.”
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