The Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday it would begin a “coordinated wind-down” of its mRNA vaccine research.
Kennedy said in a press release that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, would terminate 22 grants that support the production of new mRNA vaccines “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,” he added. “We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted.”
The total funding cut is worth nearly $500 million, according to Tuesday’s release. Contracts in their final stages, including with biomedical firms Arcturus and Amplitude, will be allowed to conclude, but the Global Health Investment Corporation, which runs BARDA, is directed to cease all other mRNA-based investments.
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Projects that will be cut include an award to Moderna for an mRNA-based h5N1 vaccine, contracts with Emory University and Tiba Biotech and the cancellation of multiple pre-award grants to Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, CSL Seqirus and Gristone, among others.
MRNA-related work in existing contracts, like with Luminary Labs, ModeX and Seqirus, will also be redirected, along with the restructuring of collaborations with the Department of Justice on nucleic acid-based vaccine projects with AAHI, AstraZeneca and HDT Bio.
Going forward, BARDA will focus on “platforms with stronger safety records and transparent clinical and manufacturing data practices,” according to Tuesday’s release.
“Technologies that were funded during the emergency phase but failed to meet current scientific standards will be phased out in favor of evidence-based, ethically grounded solutions — like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms.”
Kennedy has a long history of questioning the safety of vaccines — including those using mRNA technology. His vaccine skepticism dates back to at least 2005, when he first published his theory that childhood vaccines may be tied to autism. Since then he has focused in particular on the vaccines created to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
In early June, Kennedy also fired all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine recommendation committee, later replacing four of them with scientists with histories of vaccine skepticism.
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