RFK Jr addresses the nation. Credit score: X@SecKennedy
US Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has scrapped over $500 million (€432 million) in federal vaccine funding, saying a pivot in the direction of growing a so-called “common vaccine” designed to imitate pure immunity.
In an announcement on August 6, 2025, Kennedy confirmed that the US Division of Well being and Human Companies will cancel 22 vaccine improvement tasks (all utilizing mRNA expertise) in favour of “safer, broader vaccine methods.” The transfer, affecting main gamers like Pfizer and Moderna, has sparked fierce backlash from public well being consultants throughout the US.
Kennedy claimed the purpose is a brand new, all-in-one jab that might provide safety not simply in opposition to COVID-19 but in addition influenza and future pandemics.
Kennedy touts common, all-in-one jab that ‘mimics pure immunity’
Talking from Anchorage, Alaska, hours after the announcement, Kennedy declared, “It may very well be efficient – we consider it’s going to be efficient – in opposition to not solely coronaviruses, but in addition flu.”
The well being division described the cancelled mRNA contracts as a part of a “shift in vaccine improvement priorities.” Kennedy, a long-time vaccine critic, mentioned mRNA platforms are flawed and unstable when viruses mutate.
“We reviewed the science, listened to the consultants, and acted. BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine improvement investments as a result of the info present these vaccines fail to guard successfully in opposition to higher respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding towards safer, broader vaccine platforms that stay efficient at the same time as viruses mutate,” he mentioned in a video posted on X.
Reactions from the medical group have been swift and damning.
“I don’t assume I’ve seen a extra harmful determination in public well being in my 50 years within the enterprise,” mentioned infectious illness skilled Mike Osterholm of the College of Minnesota, cited by Sky Information.
Dr Paul Offit of the Youngsters’s Hospital of Philadelphia additionally slammed the choice, “It’s definitely saved hundreds of thousands of lives,” he mentioned, referring to mRNA vaccines used through the COVID-19 pandemic.
What’s mRNA?
mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccines don’t use the precise virus to set off immunity. As an alternative, they ship a genetic blueprint that instructs the physique to create a innocent viral protein, prompting an immune response.
This strategy permits for faster manufacturing of vaccines, in accordance with the UK Well being Safety Company. Moderna beforehand claimed mRNA may speed up flu vaccine improvement.
Regardless of Kennedy’s criticism, the Division of Well being clarified that “different makes use of of mRNA expertise throughout the division will not be impacted by this announcement,” together with analysis into most cancers therapies and different illnesses.
That is the most recent in a collection of controversial selections by Kennedy since taking workplace:
As consultants warn of rising vaccine hesitancy and decreased pandemic preparedness, the larger query looms: will a common jab actually ship?
View all USA information.
View all world information.