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yesterday

HHS Terminates Nearly $600 Million Moderna Contract for Bird Flu Vaccine

By citing under-tested mRNA safety concerns, HHS shifted focus away from the pre-pandemic H5N1 vaccine effort

Moderna logo is seen in Warsaw, Poland on April 9, 2025. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
FILE - A patient is given a flu vaccine Oct. 28, 2022, in Lynwood, Calif. On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, the U.S. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
Moderna logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Overview

  • HHS has canceled its $590 million BARDA award to Moderna after a rigorous review deemed the mRNA H5N1 program scientifically and ethically unjustifiable.
  • Moderna reported that its Phase 1/2 trial in roughly 300 adults achieved a 98 percent immune response and demonstrated a favorable safety profile.
  • The funding cut withdraws two Biden-era awards totaling $766 million—$176 million in July 2024 and $590 million in January 2025—for late-stage development and stockpiling readiness.
  • Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s deep skepticism of mRNA vaccine technology has prompted a broader Trump administration review of previous pandemic preparedness contracts.
  • With at least 70 U.S. infections and one death, public health experts warn that scaling back mRNA efforts could slow response if H5N1 mutates for human transmission.