Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing a grilling on social media over his department’s latest move.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced on Tuesday that it would be canceling nearly $500 million of grants and contracts for mRNA vaccines, which have been used to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu. The step had quickly alarmed a number of infectious disease experts — many of whom believe that the type of shot is safe and an integral part of safeguarding the health of Americans during a pandemic.
The termination will impact 22 projects managed by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), according to department. The type of vaccine, first used by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna during the COVID pandemic, cues an individual’s body to create a snippet of a virus, which ultimately leads to an immune response. The mrNA shots could also be developed within months, and then altered, unlike traditional vaccines.
“To replace the troubled mRNA programs, we’re prioritizing the development of safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don’t collapse when viruses mutate,” Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, said in a video on his social media platforms.
Kennedy was quickly met with criticism online over his newest decision.
Dr. Alastair McAlpine, a pediatric palliative care physician, slammed the move as “insanity.”
“No other technology promises to provide as much protection against an array of diseases. Now this anti-vaxx weirdo has shut them all down,” McAlpine wrote on X, adding “Never has America been more vulnerable.”
Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious disease specialist, argued that the belief that “mRNA vaccine technology poses more risk than benefits is simply false.”
“What poses risk is abandoning the most adaptable, scalable vaccine platform we’ve ever had. Halting future development undermines pandemic preparedness at a time when we can least afford it,” Scott said.
Another user posted: “Literally one of the dumbest self-own moves in history. The stupidity of this clown and the corrupt madmen backing him is going to kill millions of people.”
“This man is a f—— idiot,” a different user bluntly wrote, and someone else joked, “Yeah I guess one american century was enough.”
One user said, “Congratulations to everyone who foisted this despicable quack on the nation.”
“When all is said and done, how much will the Trump admin manage to slow down and disrupt medical research?” a user asked.
Kennedy’s newest decision comes amid a string of vaccine pullbacks at the health department in recent months. In May, he said that COVID shots are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. The next month, he fired a panel that makes vaccine recommendations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The mRNA vaccine has not only been used to combat infectious diseases. Researchers have been exploring its use for cancer immunotherapies. Larry Ellison, the chair of the technology company Oracle, had praised the potential of artificial intelligence and mRNA technology in fighting cancer at the White House earlier this year, prompting Moderna stock to surge.
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