Govt scraps mRNA vaccine contracts, casting safety doubts

President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday announced it would terminate 22 federal contracts for mRNA-based vaccines, questioning the safety of a technology credited with helping end the Covid pandemic and saving millions of lives.

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The announcement, made by Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, marks his latest effort to weave vaccine skepticism into the core of US government policy.

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,’ Mr Kennedy said in a statement.

The health department's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is “terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like Covid and flu,’ he added.

“We're shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”