mRNA research hit as Kennedy slashes funding

Research into the new mRNA technology—which was first used in the Covid-19 pandemic—has been hit hard by the US’s health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has blocked $500m of research funding.

Instead, he has told researchers to explore traditional vaccine protocols that have been used for years to counter infections.

In a statement, Mr Kennedy said that the mRNA technology “poses more risks than benefits for respiratory viruses”.  The Covid vaccines have been linked to heart issues that have especially affected young people.  He added: “The data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”

The funding cut affects 22 research projects, overseen by Pfizer and Moderna—the two drug companies that launched the mRNA Covid vaccines—which were investigating ways to counter other viral infections like bird flu.

But instead of combating infection, Mr Kennedy said the technology “encourages new mutations and can actually prolong pandemics as the virus constantly mutates to escape the protective effects of the vaccine”.

Unlike conventional vaccines that use an inactivated virus to trigger an immune response, mRNA vaccines work by teaching cells how to make proteins that can trigger an immune response.

Mr Kennedy has also removed the mRNA Covid vaccines from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women.

Last June, he fired the 17 members of a CDC oversight committee that issues official government recommendations on immunisations, replacing them with people who he says are more independent, and don’t receive paybacks from the pharmaceutical industry, and instead put public safety first.

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