RFK Jr. cancels $500 million mRNA development contract as HHS focuses on older vaccine technologies
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is terminating a contract for the Messenger RNA vaccine research, the latest move by the current government against technology, leading to the successful development of a mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine.
The decision announced Tuesday covers 22 mRNA vaccine contracts funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Bureau (Barda), which supports the development of medical responses to health threats, such as the pandemic. The cancelled contract – awarded to entities such as Hyundai, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, CSL Seqirus and Emory University, representing nearly $500 million in Barda funds.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. added that the funding will turn to “as the virus mutates into an effective safer, broader vaccine platform.
Termination of the contract deletes a technology that is particularly suitable for providing a pandemic response. With the help of mRNA vaccines, mRNA provides instructions for a person's own protein-making machinery to enable antigens to drive an immune response. Once the target pathogen has been sequenced, mRNA can be designed and produced to resolve it. When the virus mutates, the mRNA vaccine provides the ability to adapt to the mutation.
The COVID-19 vaccine based on mRNA technology was granted emergency use authorization and then obtained FDA approval for SAIFE and efficacy based on clinical trial data. mRNA vaccines provide faster turn times than older vaccine methods, such as using eggs as medium for growing viruses. The virus is then weakened or killed so it does not cause disease, but can still cause an immune response. The vaccine made by planting viruses in cell cultures is several months faster than the egg-based vaccine.
Kennedy said that looking forward, Barda will focus on vaccine platforms with “stronger safety records, transparent clinical and manufacturing data practices.” He did not provide details about the safety risks he believes are associated with mRNA vaccines. But he said that technologies that funded during the emergency phase of the pandemic but failed to meet current scientific standards would be phased out, favoring other solutions such as whole-viral vaccines (which can be produced by egg and cell culture methods).
Kennedy had a long history of anti-vaccine activities before taking the top position at HHS. Kennedy's HHS demonstrated his suspicion of the MRNA vaccine in his new position, when the agency canceled a federal contract that supports Moderna's clinical testing of the mRNA vaccine for Avian flu. More than a year ago, the initial contract provided $176 million in federal funding. In January, before President Trump took office, HHS expanded its modern contract to $590 million. ModernA took this vaccine for code MRNA-1018 through the 1/2 phase test and was ready to proceed to the 3 phase test.
In June, Kennedy fired the entire Immune Habits Advisory Committee, an agency that made vaccine recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Without evidence, Kennedy claims that committee members are “rubber stamps” for the pharmaceutical industry. Kennedy replaced committee members with eight hand-selected options, some of whom criticized the Covid-19-19 vaccine and mRNA technology. Kennedy said in the HHS announcement that the termination of the Bada mRNA contract is about safety – no evidence of safety risks is provided.
“Let me be absolutely clear: HHS provides a safe, effective vaccine for every American who wants them,” Kennedy said. “That's why we go beyond the limitations of mRNA and invest in better solutions.”
In a post on social media platform X, American Medical Association president Bobby Mukkamala expressed concerns about HHS planning to terminate investment in mRNA vaccines.
“The Covid-19 vaccine using mRNA technology has helped save countless lives during the pandemic,” he said. “We urge the government to continue to carry out important research to improve mRNA vaccines, rather than bringing babies out of the bath water by effectively preventing the research from going forward.”
Photo: Eric Lee/Bloomberg, by Getty Images
