WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will cancel contracts and pull funding for several vaccines that are in development to combat respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 and influenza.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary and a longtime critic of vaccines, announced on Tuesday in a statement that vaccine development projects totaling $500 million will be halted; all of them rely on mRNA technology.
The projects — 22 in total — are led by some of the country’s leading pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, and their aim is to prevent infections from flu, COVID-19, and H5N1.
Those who supported mRNA vaccines credited them with helping to slow the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020.
Kennedy stated in the Tuesday release that he wants the health department to move away from mRNA vaccines, and he urged the department to start “investing in better solutions.” He did not provide specifics on what those technologies might be.
