"The abrupt termination last month of nearly half a billion dollars in US government contracts for mRNA-vaccine research rattled scientists working inside and outside industry. The cuts raised alarm about the country's commitment to the Nobel-prizewinning technology, which is credited with saving millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and is regarded as essential for fighting viruses in the future."
"Yet not all large-scale research into mRNA vaccines in the United States is being dismantled. Nature has learnt that, even as the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - led by vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr - pulls back, the country's military continues to bankroll parts of the same research. Among the beneficiaries are programmes developing vaccines against some of the world's deadliest pathogens,"
Nearly half a billion dollars in US government contracts for mRNA-vaccine research were abruptly terminated last month, rattling the research community. The cuts raised alarm about national commitment to mRNA technology, credited with saving millions during the COVID-19 pandemic and regarded as essential for combating future viral threats. Even as HHS pulls back under vaccine-critical leadership, the US military continues to finance parts of mRNA research. Military-funded programmes include vaccine development against pathogens such as Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever. The government frames such research as crucial for protecting deployed soldiers and preventing potential global outbreaks. The disjointed funding landscape threatens biodefense readiness.
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