Overview

• On August 7, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed the withdrawal of $500 million in vaccine funding, canceling 22 mRNA research projects and reshuffling vaccine policy leadership.
• Stephen Colbert used profane satire on The Late Show to challenge Kennedy’s claim that mRNA vaccines “don’t perform well against viruses that infect the upper respiratory tract.”
• Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned that the funding cuts “is going to cost lives,” highlighting the potential human toll of reduced vaccine research.
• National Institutes of Health data show mRNA vaccines prevented an estimated 14.4 million deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, undermining the administration’s rationale for the cuts.
• In June, Kennedy dismissed an expert panel on seasonal vaccines and replaced its members with loyalists and ideologues, marking a significant departure from traditional HHS vaccine policy oversight.