The Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced on Tuesday the cancellation of 22 vaccine development projects based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, representing a withdrawal of approximately 500 million dollars in federal funding.
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The affected projects were focused on vaccines against respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, seasonal flu, and the H5N1 virus (avian flu). Kennedy justified the decision by claiming that these vaccines do not offer effective protection against upper respiratory infections and warned of potential safety risks. “The data shows that these vaccines do not effectively protect against infections like COVID and influenza,” he stated in a video shared on social media, promising to redirect funds towards “safer” platforms, such as inactivated virus vaccines.
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According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the measure does not affect other medical applications of mRNA technology, such as its use in therapies for cancer or rare diseases.
Restructuring of the vaccination policy
The cancellation is part of a series of actions driven by Kennedy since taking office, including dismantling the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and excluding medical organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics from vaccine task forces. His administration has also restricted access to new COVID-19 vaccines, limiting availability only to those considered high-risk individuals.
In addition, previously established multimillion-dollar contracts by the government have been canceled, such as a $766 million agreement with the pharmaceutical company Moderna for the development of an mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccine.
Expert reviews
The decision has sparked a wave of criticism in the scientific community. Paul Offit, an expert in infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, described it as “a dangerous action for public health,” while Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, warned: “I have never seen a more risky decision in terms of pandemic preparedness.”
Both emphasized that mRNA vaccines played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic, saving millions of lives, and pointed out that the suspension of these projects could compromise the country’s ability to respond to future health threats.