US Health Secretary RFK Jr. cancels $500 million in funding for vaccine development

A total of 22 projects are set to be affected out of which some of those were being led by America’s leading pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Moderna to prevent flu, H5N1 and COVID-19.

By: Express Web Desk

August 6, 2025 05:54 AM IST

Kennedy said he wants the health department to move away from the mRNA vaccines and called on the department to start “investing in better solutions.”. (AP Photo)

The US Department of Health and Human Services has decided to cancel contracts and cease funding of mRNA vaccine development activities that were being developed to fight respiratory viruses like flu and COVID-19.

The biomedical research unit affected by the decision is Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority which helps companies to develop medical supplies to address health threats in the public, and it had provided billions of dollars for the development of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been a vaccine critic himself for a long time, announced in a statement on Tuesday that $500 million worth of vaccine development projects, all under the mRNA technology, will be paused.

With this decision, a total of 22 projects are set to be affected out of which some of those were being led by America’s leading pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Moderna to prevent flu, H5N1 and COVID-19 among others. The mRNA vaccines hold the credit for slowing down the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

In the statement, Kennedy said he wants the health department to move away from the mRNA vaccines and called on the department to start “investing in better solutions.” “We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy refrained from providing details on what those technologies might be as he asked the health department to move away from the development of mRNA vaccines.

The health department added that it was also cancelling multiple pre-award solicitations, including proposals from Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, CSL Seqirus, Gritstone and others.

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