The US Department of Health and Human Services is scaling back on mRNA vaccine development as part of the Trump administration’s latest shakeup of government immunization processes.
The move is the latest under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. changing how the nation’s health department funds, develops, and reviews vaccines.
The HHS “is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu,” Kennedy said in a statement announcing the action.
The 22 projects are worth $500 million, according to the HHS.
The HHS said there won’t be any future projects based on mRNA vaccines, although some contracts in their final stages will “run their course to preserve prior taxpayer investment.”
Kennedy said the HHS is “shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”
Since taking the reins of the HHS, Kennedy has dismissed 17 vaccine policy advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and pulled the Covid-19 shot from the CDC’s recommended immunization list for healthy children and pregnant women.
A known vaccine skeptic, Kennedy has also narrowed approval of a Novavax vaccine and slashed a $766 million contract with Moderna to develop mRNA vaccines for avian influenza.
Tuesday’s actions fall under the scope of the HHS’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. The HHS billed its announcement as “a broader shift in federal vaccine development priorities,” in which BARDA is focusing “on platforms with stronger safety records and transparent clinical and manufacturing data practices.”
Also affected by the shift are proposals from
The HHS said its decision followed a review of investments involving mRNA that were initiated during the Covid-19 outbreak.
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