Funding Cuts $500M for Vaccines

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a statement Tuesday that 22 projects, totaling $500 million, to develop vaccines using mRNA technology will be halted.

Kennedy's decision to terminate the projects is the latest in a string of decisions that have put the longtime vaccine critic's doubts about shots into full effect at the nation's health department. Kennedy has pulled back recommendations around the COVID-19 shots, fired the panel that makes vaccine recommendations, and refused to offer a vigorous endorsement of vaccinations as a measles outbreak worsened.

The abandoned mRNA projects signal a "shift in vaccine development priorities," the health department said in its statement, adding that it will start "investing in better solutions."

"Let me be absolutely clear, HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them," Kennedy said in the statement.

Speaking hours later Tuesday at a news conference in Anchorage, Alaska, alongside the state's two Republican U.S. senators, Kennedy said work is underway on an alternative.

He said a "universal vaccine" that mimics "natural immunity" is the administration's focus.

"It could be effective — we believe it's going to be effective

Read the full NPR article HERE