#mrna-vaccines

#mrna-vaccines

Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said other countries with active biotechnology industries will benefit, but the decision will still delay the development of new vaccines worldwide. "Progress will continue but not as quickly as otherwise. Lives will be lost that could have been saved had there been a vaccine," he told Times Higher Education.

US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr defiantly defended his controversial actions to upend public health at a Senate hearing on 4 September. Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine advocate, also made unfounded allegations about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and accused the medical establishment of corruption. What was supposed to be a routine hearing about the health care agenda of Republican President Donald Trump was anything but.

The success of Operation Warp Speed (OWS) and U.S. development of mRNA vaccines is a profound public health achievement. Under President Trump's leadership, American innovation led the world, helping prevent economic collapse and saving more than 14 million lives globally. Operation Warp Speed restored consumer confidence, saved over $1 trillion in health care costs due to reductions in serious illness and avoidance of hospitalizations, and rapidly scaled up domestic production.

Perhaps most damningly, the younger Kennedy has elected to " wind down" the development of mRNA vaccines and cancel $500 million in research contracts because of his vaccine skepticism, particularly as it relates to COVID-19 vaccines. Along with its incredible efficacy at staving off further death from the coronavirus pandemic, researchers working with mRNA believe they may be close to achieving a monumental milestone: creating a universal cancer vaccine using the promising biotechnology.

Scientists fear that the restrictions on Covid mRNA vaccines may impede progress in mRNA cancer research, potentially stalling advancements in treating aggressive cancers such as pancreatic cancer.