RFK health dept to terminate 22 mRNA vaccine research contracts
The US Department of Health and Human Services said it would terminate 22 contracts for mRNA vaccine projects, questioning the safety of the technology.
The cancelled contracts, worth nearly US$500m, include one with Moderna for development of a bird flu vaccine and rejected proposals from Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, CSL Seqirus and Gritstone.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (Barda), which funds emergency medical countermeasures, had provided billions for vaccine development during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The move marks the latest shift under US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine sceptic who has made sweeping changes to federal vaccine, food and drug policies.
Kennedy said: “We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted.
He claimed the vaccines “fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu,” but offered no supporting scientific evidence.
He said: “We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”
HHS said the decision followed a full review of mRNA-related investments launched during the Covid-19 public health emergency.
Some late-stage projects were excluded to preserve previous taxpayer investment.
The cancellations include a contract with Moderna for late-stage development and purchase of its bird flu vaccine for humans, previously reported in May.
Since taking office, Kennedy has overseen a major overhaul of US health policy.
He fired a panel of government vaccine advisers and replaced them with his own appointees, who then voted to ban a longstanding vaccine preservative, despite its strong safety record.
He has also ordered a sweeping new study into the long-debunked theory linking vaccines to autism.
Unlike traditional vaccines that use weakened or inactivated viruses or bacteria, mRNA vaccines deliver genetic instructions into cells, prompting them to produce a harmless protein that trains the immune system to recognise and fight the real pathogen.
Though in development for decades, mRNA vaccines were brought to widespread use through Operation Warp Speed – a public-private partnership led by Barda during the Trump administration.
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, two scientists whose discoveries underpinned the technology, were awarded the 2023 Nobel prize in medicine for their contributions to what the committee called an “unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times.”
Kennedy, who has spent more than 20 years spreading misinformation about vaccines, has not presented peer-reviewed evidence to support his claims about mRNA vaccine ineffectiveness.
