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3w ago

RFK Jr. Halts $500 Million in BARDA mRNA Contracts and Bars New Projects

Experts warn the move undermines U.S. pandemic readiness by hobbling rapid vaccine innovation

Then-Surgeon General Jerome Adams at a Coronavirus Task Force news conference at the White House on April 10, 2020.
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Francesca Paceri, a registered pharmacist technician carefully fills the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine at a vaccine clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Tuesday, December 15, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Overview

  • On August 8, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled $500 million in Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority mRNA vaccine contracts and declared a moratorium on new BARDA mRNA projects.
  • Kennedy argued that mRNA vaccine technology “poses more risk than benefits” and said funding will shift toward older, traditional vaccine platforms.
  • Dr. Michael Osterholm and other public health leaders called the decision one of the worst in decades, warning it could preclude another rapid-response effort like Operation Warp Speed.
  • Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó cautioned that cutting 22 university and company contracts will drive U.S. mRNA researchers overseas and erode American leadership in vaccine innovation.
  • mRNA vaccines enabled record-speed COVID-19 shots credited with saving an estimated 20 million lives and are being tested against cancer, HIV and emerging threats like H5N1 bird flu.