The US is halting $500 million in investments in mRNA vaccines: alternatives will be sought
Photo: Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. / EPA / ERIC LEE / POOL

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the cancellation of 22 contracts for the development of mRNA vaccines worth about $500 million. About this writes is an American news channel Fox News.

These investments were made through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is dedicated to creating vaccines, medicines, and other tools to combat national health threats.

The decision was made after several weeks of internal review of the projects.

According to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, studies have shown that mRNA vaccines do not provide adequate protection against upper respiratory tract infections, including COVID-19 and influenza, and quickly lose their effectiveness if viruses mutate.

"We are refocusing funding on safer, broader vaccine alternatives that remain effective even when viruses mutate," Kennedy said.

He noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA vaccines failed to prevent the spread of, for example, the Omicron strain, which massively infected vaccinated people.

Despite the cancellation of contracts at BARDA, some of the final studies will be completed to save the money already invested.

In addition, the development of mRNA vaccines at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) will continue.

The HHS plans to rely on whole-virus vaccines and other technologies that are less vulnerable to pathogen mutations.

The mRNA technology underlying the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines was once a real scientific breakthrough in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • In 2023, Catalin Carico and Drew Weissman, the developers of the mRNA technology that allowed the creation of vaccines against COVID-19 received the Nobel Prize in medicine.
  • In October 2024, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be awarded to awarded for the opening of the micro-RNA.