Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams expressed his opposition to the recent decision by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to scale back its mRNA vaccine development efforts through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
CBS’s Margaret Brennan addressed this change on “Face the Nation,” referencing Secretary Kennedy’s announcement to halt $500 million in funding for mRNA technology research. This technology was pivotal in the rapid development of the COVID vaccine during Operation Warp Speed.
She quoted Secretary Kennedy, who said mRNA vaccines “don’t work against upper respiratory infections,” and questioned what implications stopping this research could have on future pandemic preparedness.
Jerome Adams rebutted this claim, stating, “That’s simply incorrect. Conservative estimates indicate that mRNA technology has saved over two million lives by enabling the swift development of COVID-19 vaccines. It remains, in all honesty, President Trump’s most significant accomplishment.”
HHS announced last Tuesday that it was winding down the BARDA mRNA vaccine development activities.
“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a previous statement.
The reduction of the mRNA vaccine development activities features the ending of contracts with a total worth of nearly $500 million.
In contrast, Kennedy explained that BARDA is pulling back on 22 mRNA vaccine projects because data suggests these vaccines don’t effectively prevent upper respiratory infections like COVID and influenza. Funding will instead be directed toward developing safer and more broad-spectrum vaccine platforms that maintain efficacy against mutating viruses.
The Hill has reached out to HHS for comment.
