Overview

• The Trump administration terminated two BARDA awards—a $176 million grant from July 2024 and a $590 million award from January 2025—for Moderna’s H5N1 vaccine development program.
• HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon said the mRNA platform remained under-tested and that the project failed to meet scientific and safety expectations.
• Moderna reported interim Phase 1/2 trial data in 300 adults showing a robust immune response and favorable safety profile, and the company is exploring new funding routes.
• Public health experts including Dr. Ashish Jha argued that cutting mRNA vaccine support could slow rapid response capabilities if bird flu evolves toward human-to-human transmission.
• The H5N1 outbreak has spread among poultry and cattle in multiple states and infected over 70 farmworkers in the US, resulting in one death and prompting pandemic preparedness concerns.