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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu.
Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday (Aug. 5, 2025) that 22 projects, totaling $500 million, to develop vaccines using mRNA technology will be halted. The health secretary criticized mRNA vaccines which helped explain the decision to cancel projects being led by the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies that offer protection against viruses like the flu, COVID-19 and H5N1.
“To replace the troubled mRNA programs, we’re prioritizing the development of safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don’t collapse when viruses mutate,” Kennedy said.
Infectious disease experts say the mRNA technology used in vaccines is safe. Future pandemics, they warned, will be harder to stop without the help of mRNA.
