Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has decided on a “who cares” approach to America’s public health policy.
The vaccine conspiracist announced Tuesday that the Department of Health and Human Services had directed the cancellation of $500 million worth of vaccine projects, including 22 mRNA studies, because “the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”
“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” Kennedy said, without specifying which science or experts were consulted. “We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”
Doctors reacted in horror to the news, arguing that Kennedy’s decision to nix the vaccine studies would effectively leave America completely defenseless against another pandemic.
“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. Osterholm underscored that mRNA technology has saved millions of lives and is a crucial tool in snuffing out emerging diseases, particularly the most lethal and contagious ones, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
Stanford University infectious diseases specialist Dr. Jake Scott wrote on X that HHS was “undermining pandemic preparedness at a time when we can least afford it.”
“The claim that mRNA vaccine technology poses more risk than benefits is simply false,” Scott said, responding to Kennedy’s video statement. “What poses risk is abandoning the most adaptable, scalable vaccine platform we’ve ever had.”
MRNA vaccines have been around for decades but were relatively new to the United States when the coronavirus began to spread. Their use allowed scientists, pharmaceutical companies, and the medical industry to rapidly respond to the virus, shortening the timeline to reach national herd immunity. The technology was heralded as a medical marvel and went on to win the 2023 Nobel Prize in medicine, with abilities that extend far beyond the infectious disease realm: In the years since it debuted on the U.S. market, biomedical researchers have framed mRNA as a potential cancer treatment. But its sudden emergence in the U.S. prompted suspicion from anti-vaxxers, including Kennedy.
Since Kennedy took the reins at HHS, he has removed independent medical experts on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with vaccine skeptics. He warned against the use of the MMR vaccine during Texas’s historic measles outbreak, recommending that suffering patients instead take vitamins. And he founded his new directive for America’s health policy—the “Make America Healthy Again” report—on studies generated by AI that never existed in the real world.
Should it need repeating: Vaccines have proven to be one of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine. They are so effective they have practically eradicated some of the worst diseases, from rabies to polio and smallpox, a fact that has possibly fooled some into believing that the viruses and their complications aren’t a significant threat for the average, health-conscious individual.
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