Kennedy axes US$0.5 billion mRNA vaccine investment

The decision will impact US$0.5 billions-worth of funding projects currently under way to tackle a variety of viruses including bird flu.

Kennedy – a longstanding vaccine critic – alleged mRNA technology “poses more risks than benefits” and claimed data demonstrated vaccines had failed to provide effective protection for Covid, flu and upper respiratory infections.

Federal investment provided through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) would instead shift “toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate,” said the health secretary.

Companies involved in the projects include Pfizer and Moderna, whose mRNA Covid-19 vaccines were among those used in mass inoculations worldwide.

These vaccines are designed to deliver messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA) to cells, promoting them to produce a viral protein, triggering the body to produce an immune response.

In 2023, Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman shared the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their key research in developing the vaccines. The previous Trump administration had also celebrated the success of the BARDA-led Operation Warp Speed in sponsoring vaccine initiatives.

Of the three key Covid vaccines employed in the US, both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s variants are mRNA vaccines. The third, Novovax, is classed as a protein subunit  or recombinant nanoparticle vaccine, containing specific protein or pathogen fragments instead of a whole virus or bacteria.

The decision comes two months after Kennedy fired the entire panel of experts advising the government on vaccine use.

Pic: Shutterstock (Phil Mistry)