Trump’s administration halts mRNA vaccine development, sparking WHO fears for emerging pandemic preparedness.
The decision by US President Donald Trump’s administration to terminate 22 federal contracts for mRNA-based vaccines is a major blow to a hugely promising platform, the World Health Organization said.
“This is, of course, a significant blow,” WHO immunisation figurehead Joachim Hombach told the UN correspondents’ association ACANU on Thursday.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announcement that it will wind down mRNA vaccine development activities under its biomedical research unit is the latest development under US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a long-time vaccine sceptic who has been making sweeping changes to reshape vaccines, food and medicine policies.
“mRNA vaccines are a very important technology and platform which has served us extremely well for COVID. We also know there is very promising work going on in relation to influenza vaccines,” Hombach said. “From our perspective, the platform is particularly useful in relation to developing vaccines against emerging and pandemic threats, because these platforms can be very rapidly adapted.”
Unlike traditional vaccines, which often use weakened or inactivated forms of the target virus or bacteria, mRNA shots deliver genetic instructions into the host’s cells, prompting them to produce a harmless decoy of the pathogen and train the immune system to fight the real thing.
The US health department’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority 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”, Kennedy said.
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Hombach, executive secretary for the WHO’s strategic advisory group of experts on immunisation, called for work on the development of mRNA vaccines to continue around the world.
“This is, from our perspective, an unfortunate and untimely move, but we are confident that the research endeavour will continue because it’s an extremely promising technology,” he told reporters.
Shortly after his inauguration in January, Trump signed an executive order directing the United States to withdraw from the WHO, an organisation he has repeatedly criticised over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority helps companies develop medical supplies to address public health threats, and had provided billions of dollars for the development of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
HHS said the wind-down includes cancellation of a contract awarded to Moderna MRNA.O for the late-stage development of its bird flu vaccine for humans and the right to buy the shots, as previously reported in May.
The US health agency said it was also rejecting or cancelling multiple pre-award solicitations, including proposals from Pfizer PFE.N, Sanofi Pasteur SASY.PA, CSL Seqirus CSL.AX, Gritstone and others.
Kennedy said the department is terminating these programmes because data show these vaccines “fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu,” but did not offer scientific evidence.
“We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate,” Kennedy said.
In total, the decision affects 22 projects worth nearly $500m, the agency said.
HHS said the decision follows a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.