RFK Jr.'s vaccine pullback stokes fears of lost medical breakthroughs

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to cut federal funding for mRNA vaccine research is the latest in a series of moves that have the potential to crush future medical breakthroughs and accelerate a brain drain.Why it matters: America has historically led the world in scientific innovation — driving economic growth, strengthening national security, and attracting global talent. But scientists, including some who served in Trump's first administration, warn that lead is slipping away.The mRNA divestment "risks stalling progress in some of the most promising areas of modern medicine," Jerome Adams, surgeon general during the first Trump administration and now a professor at Purdue University, told Axios. "Walking away from this technology now would be like pulling funding from antibiotics after penicillin or from computers after the microchip. It's short-sighted and puts us at a disadvantage globally."State of play: Kennedy said last week that HHS's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority would pull nearly $500 million worth of contracts with universities, drug companies and other labs working on new mRNA vaccines. No new mRNA-based projects will be launched as the administration shifts to "safer, broader vaccine platforms," he added. Scientists refute the implication that mRNA vaccines are unsafe. The technology that brought mRNA COVID vaccines in Trump's first term has been in development for decades. Large scientific trials and real-world data have shown that the vaccines are safe and effective — and capable of training the body's immune system to create antibodies to fight a host of afflictions. HHS, when asked for the research on which Kennedy based this decision, sent Axios a link to a citation collection put together by anti-COVID vaccine advocates, including Steven Hatfill, who promoted the use of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus before vaccines were available despite reports of safety issues. Friction point: mRNA technology is what allowed the most common COVID vaccines to be deployed so quickly, and it's essential to responding to new viral pandemic threats, said Cynthia Leifer, a professor of immunology at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine."When we have a pandemic, we need to act quickly. We don't have time to wait several years or decades to do testing of older platforms the way they were normally done in years past," she said. "The newer technology could allow us to move so much faster to develop and have these vaccines rolled out to protect people when a pandemic is ongoing," Leifer added. Researchers are also studying how mRNA technology could treat or prevent cancer, HIV, and other chronic diseases — and the science so far is promising. Now, they're worried that progress could be lost. "If we stop now, we could delay or even miss the next generation of cures entirely," said Adams, the former surgeon general. Zoom out: Scientists say some of Kennedy's other changes are stifling innovation, too. Kennedy is working to implement massive staff cuts at HHS, reduce funding for research labs' overhead costs and end National Institutes of Health grants for a wide swath of projects. The cuts, along with the broader Trump administration's immigration restrictions, has already started to steer promising international scientific talent away from the country.Kennedy also is reportedly considering overhauling the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, whose independent experts establish care and coverage guidelines to account for advances in medical treatments and new disease trends. Its past work included recommending beginning mammograms at 40, which has been credited with saving thousands of lives.The other side: HHS denies that its changes will stymie medical advances. "Those concerns are unfounded and not supported with facts," HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon told Axios. Kennedy's decision to cut BARDA funding for mRNA work won't affect other government uses involving the technology, HHS said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed mRNA COVID vaccines for most adults. Between the lines: An independent and bipartisan commission warned Congress in April that China has already pulled ahead of the U.S. in key life sciences areas. The U.S. can stay dominant, but it only has a few years to strengthen its position — and it needs to put significant resources into biotechnology resources, the commission's report said. Reality check: It's impossible to know whether breakthroughs actually won't happen as a result of these policy changes, or which advances we could miss out on."That is a long-term impact that is hard to measure. What cure wasn't found? What question wasn't asked and investigated?" Richard Besser, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said.mRNA therapy start-ups are also still raising private investment, which could keep research moving. Tina Reed contributed reporting.

Comments

World news

Scorned teacher-wife blows the whistle on NYC principal’s alleged affair with younger married educator: report

Independent

Comments

Similar News

Even Trump’s former Surgeon General has hit out at RFK Jr’s plans to gut vaccine research: ‘Going to cost lives’

RFK Jr. defunds a medical miracle

Trump once hailed mRNA vaccines as a 'medical miracle.' Now RFK Jr. is halting advancement

Doctors decry RFK Jr decision to slash mRNA vaccine grants: ‘Our nation will pay in lives’

RFK Jr. cancels $500 million in funding for vaccine development

Could RFK Jr's move to pull mRNA vaccine funding be a huge miscalculation?

How RFK Jr just increased the risk of future deadly viruses

Despite RFK’s funding block, mRNA vaccines are too impressive to ignore

RFK Jr cancels $500m in mRNA vaccine development in the US

RFK Jr’s health department to halt $500m in mRNA vaccine research

Health experts slam RFK Jr.’s ‘dangerous decision’ to cut US$500M in funding for mRNA vaccine development

RFK Jr cancels $500M in vaccine development after ‘listening to the experts’

Trump calls RFK Jr ‘three or four times a week’ with the same question

Top medical body concerned over RFK Jr’s reported plans to cut preventive health panel

RFK Jr. looks to boot panel that decides which HIV and cancer screenings will be free: report

RFK Jr to remove preservative thimerosal from all US vaccines

RFK Jr strides into new controversy: hiking in sweltering Arizona … in jeans

RFK Jr orders changes for organ donation network as report finds dozens were not dead when harvested

Michael Bloomberg urges Republicans to oust RFK Jr, ‘peddler of junk science’

Health experts raise alarm over RFK Jr’s ‘war on science’ amid mass firings and budget cuts

World news

Scorned teacher-wife blows the whistle on NYC principal’s alleged affair with younger married educator: report

MTG cashed in on ICE contractor’s big win but Trump goes after ‘disgusting degenerate’ Nancy Pelosi over stocks

Defiant Netanyahu vows to ‘finish the job’ in planned takeover of Gaza

Mapped: What parts of Ukraine does Russia control as Trump suggests land swap for peace?

Temperatures to hit 34C as heat alerts issued for fourth summer heatwave

Putin is running circles around Trump and his band of diplomatic amateurs

UK military ‘too stretched’ to provide troops under Ukraine peace deal

Israeli PM vows to defeat Hamas as he condemns 'global campaign of lies' over starving Gazans

Trump suggests "MAGA" stock listing for mortgage giants Fannie, Freddie

David Sacks' "Goldilocks" scenario

Recipe: Pasta alla Vodka

Turkey holidaymaker shares travel warning as he exclaims 'don't bother coming'

Thousands of Israelis demand end to Netanyahu's war in Gaza after horrific takeover plans

British dad suffered two symptoms before dying from 'half cooked hotel chicken'

Adidas designer sorry for shoes 'appropriated' from Mexico

Man killed and nine rushed to hospital as broccoli recalled across Italy in deadly outbreak

Nerve-racking moment politician suffers a stroke during live TV interview

Jack Grealish keen on Everton move

I’m a teacher, but I don’t understand the obsession with university

We&#8217;re hardwired for negativity. That doesn&#8217;t mean we&#8217;re doomed to it.

Nepal's LGBTQ+ community holds first Pride rally since US funding cuts

RFK Jr.'s vaccine pullback stokes fears of lost medical breakthroughs

AI and Trump put squeeze on consulting firms as industry's post-pandemic boom fades

Lost in the wild? AI could find you

There may not be a song of the summer, but there's certainly a sound

Benidorm holidaymakers say 'its gone so downhill' as crime warning given

Aerial footage shows devastation after deadly floods in China

Jubilant scenes but bumpy road ahead in post-Hasina Bangladesh

Meteorite that hit home is older than Earth, scientists say

What Israel's plans for a military takeover of Gaza City means for Palestinians

In Nigeria, the government is cracking down on money spraying at festive events

Far-Right Israeli Minister Calls for Quicker Military Moves in Gaza

How to avoid fumbling your NFL fantasy football draft party

Two tourists drown at sea amid gale-force winds in Greece

California took center stage in ICE raids, but other states saw more immigration arrests

'A continual assault.' How UCLA's research faculty is grappling with Trump funding freeze

Should L.A. look to 'sponge cities' to solve its flooding problem?

Let's imagine a future that works for all of us

Stunning pictures show how Sturgeon Moon lit up skies around the world

How Trump’s state-map meddling started a political arms race

Pregnant women and heart disease patients among 13 million denied winter Covid jabs

Can’t commit to vegetarianism but want animals to suffer less? You’ve got options.

European leaders rally behind Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin meeting

Taliban investigating death threats against United Nations' Afghan female staff, report says

Transform your space with these wire-free lighting upgrades

British dad dies after eating 'half-cooked' chicken in plush 4-star holiday hotel

American who moved to UK shares three words they never said until ditching States

Dad of Brit family-of-four killed in Portugal car crash celebrated milestone DAYS before trip

Surgeon assaults patients on operating table before horrifying double life emerges

Can Democrats Fight Back Against Trump’s Redistricting Scheme?

'Your suffering doesn't matter': Harvard psychologist tackles Jews' 'traumatic invalidation'

Jennifer Aniston is making me a bad feminist

Farage faces backlash from younger Reform voters over net zero policies

I met my husband online but he can’t get a UK visa because I earn too little

3 elves cycle from German town to Finland's Santa Claus Village

Four members of UK family die in crash on holiday in Portugal

Donald Trump given two-word assessment by ambassador ahead of meeting with King Charles

We’re hardwired for negativity. That doesn’t mean we’re doomed to it.