The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is discontinuing 22 contracts related to mRNA vaccine research, totaling nearly $500 million in funding. This decision is based on claims by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that mRNA vaccines do not effectively protect against upper respiratory infections. Funding will be redirected towards alternative vaccine technologies. mRNA vaccines had previously demonstrated rapid response capabilities and efficacy based on clinical trials, and our understanding of their potential for quick modifications in response to virus mutations remains.
The terminated contracts remove a technology particularly well-suited to providing a faster pandemic response. With mRNA vaccines, the mRNA provides the instructions for a person's own protein-making machinery to make the antigen that prompts an immune response.
Covid-19 vaccines based on mRNA technology received emergency use authorization and then FDA approval based on clinical trial data showing both safety and efficacy.
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