RFK Jr. Cancels $500 Million in mRNA Vaccine Development That Has Posed ‘More Risks Than Benefits’ | The American Spectator

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans on Tuesday to cancel 22 mRNA vaccine development contracts totaling nearly $500 million. The move follows a “comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments” from the Department of Health and Human Services, which found that mRNA vaccines were ineffective against respiratory infections like COVID and the flu.

Kennedy said in the statement, “We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted.” According to Kennedy, the HHS is “terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”

In a video released alongside the announcement, Kennedy expressed concerns that mRNA vaccines have posed more risks than benefits in regard to the respiratory viruses they were designed to combat.

Kennedy argued that the mRNA vaccines not only fail to provide effective protection against viruses as they mutate, but the vaccines “paradoxically encourage new mutations and can actually prolong pandemics, as the virus constantly mutates to escape the protective effects of the vaccine.”

Explaining the problem, Kennedy pointed out that “mRNA only codes for a small part of the viral proteins, usually a single antigen.” Because of that, “One mutation and the vaccine becomes ineffective. This dynamic drives a phenomenon called antigenic shift,” which is the phenomenon that encourages mutations immune to existing vaccinations.

HHS regards the move as a shift in priorities for federally funded vaccine development that aims at producing solutions that will better promote the health of the American people.

The announcement follows several other cancellations of vaccine projects amid HHS’s sprawling budget cuts, which it is making to create a leaner and more tactical administration. Earlier this year, HHS also paused two other big-dollar vaccine projects: a $240 million COVID oral pill vaccine project and $700 million in Moderna bird flu vaccine funding.

Dr. Robert Califf, Biden’s FDA commissioner, lamented Kennedy’s move, dismaying at the fact that appointed officials were exerting influence over vaccine policy. He said to the New York Times, “In the long run, the biggest deal is, once you open this up to political influence, how are we going to get back?”

Califf was not the only expert outraged at HHS’s announcement. Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious diseases physician, attempted to defend the mRNA vaccines’ track record during COVID by telling AP News that, actually, the vaccines were never intended to prevent the spread of COVID. “A vaccine cannot block a respiratory infection,” he said. “And it’s never been the expectation, and it’s never been that realistic.”

Even as public health officials relentlessly enforced vaccine mandates, it turns out, according to Scott, that the vaccines were only ever intended to prevent hospitalizations from the disease, rather than stopping its spread.

While Kennedy continues to offend the entrenched medical establishment, the shift away from these specific projects doesn’t mean that HHS has abandoned vaccine research. Kennedy clarified that the department does support other vaccine research and development, but wants to make sure its investments are targeted to produce results.

“Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” Kennedy said. “That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions.”

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