US Health Department Halts $500m Funding in mRNA Vaccine Development

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced it will wind down its mRNA vaccine development activities.

The decision amounts to a termination of 22 mRNA vaccine development contracts, totaling nearly $500 million in investment.

In a press briefing on August 5, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. claimed that mRNA vaccines fail to provide adequate protection from respiratory infections, such as COVID-19 and influenza.

The termination of the contracts follows other recent actions from the HHS to curtail vaccine investment; the agency recently fired the liaison board of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), ending the committee’s oversight on vaccine safety.

End of an era

Under the purview of the HHS, vaccine development in the US is coordinated by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which works with private companies to develop medical supplies to address public health threats.

BARDA will now terminate its vaccine contracts with Emory University and Tiba Biotech, “de-scope” its mRNA-related work with Luminary Labs, ModeX and Seqirus, and “restructure” its collaborations with AstraZeneca, Moderna/UTMB and other vaccine developers.

While some final-stage contracts will be allowed to run their course to “preserve prior taxpayer investment,” BARDA will not initiate any new mRNA-based projects going forward.

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” Secretary Kennedy said in a statement. “BARDA 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. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”

The HHS announcement went on to describe these “broader” vaccine platforms as “evidence-based, ethically grounded solutions – like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms.”

“Let me be absolutely clear,” Secretary Kennedy said. “HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them. That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions.”

An unwelcome reaction

Public health experts have reacted to the news with dismay.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,” Dr. Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, told the Associated Press.

“This is a very worrying development,” Dr. David Elliman, an honorary associate professor at University College London’s Institute of Child Health, told the UK’s Science Media Centre in a statement. “mRNA vaccines were an extremely important tool in saving the lives of people from COVID.”

“While this development is not only a retrograde step for the development of mRNA vaccines, of greater concern, perhaps, is that it reinforces the impression that, in spite of his protestations, RFK Jr is antivaccine,” Elliman added.

“This has implications, not only for vaccination programs in USA, but around the world. At a time when vaccination rates are falling globally, we need to follow the evidence, not ideologically led beliefs. Such misguided beliefs are likely to cause unnecessary suffering and death, particularly in children,” he continued.

Another anti-vaccine action

The termination of the 22 contracts marks the latest in a series of anti-vaccine decisions from the new US administration.

Only last week, ACIP, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee that reviews vaccine scientific evidence and informs vaccine recommendations, was told, via email, that it was “biased” and would no longer have any oversight on vaccine approval.

“I am concerned and greatly disappointed in the decision to exclude liaison representatives of professional organizations from participating in the discussions in vaccine Work Groups of the ACIP,” William Schaffner, a professor of preventive at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told Technology Networks.

“The liaisons provide the real-world insights, experience and wisdom of both clinical and public health practitioners, helping to assure that the final recommendations will be feasible in implementation and acceptable to both providers and patients,” he added. “This is not a bias, it is a helpful perspective and has been useful for decades.”

“The removal of the professional liaisons from participation in the deliberations of the ACIP Vaccine Work Groups will contribute to the erosion of trust in the ACIP recommendations going forward.”