The Department of Health (HHS) has canceled a more than $750 million grant intended for the U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna to develop an avian flu vaccine, claiming that “mRNA technology is still too experimental.”
The decision, announced at the direction of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. marks an abrupt reversal from the line taken during the Biden administration and reflects the current Trump administration’s growing skepticism toward mRNA vaccines.
The mRNA vaccine is a type of vaccine that uses messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules to provide the body’s cells with the genetic instructions necessary to produce a specific viral protein, such as the Spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This protein, once produced by the cells, is recognized as foreign by the immune system, which then triggers a defensive response by producing specific antibodies and immune cells that can fight the virus in the event of actual infection. Unlike traditional vaccines, which directly introduce an inactivated or attenuated virus, mRNA vaccines do not contain the actual virus, but only the genetic information for the synthesis of the viral protein.
Moderna had just obtained positive data from a clinical trial conducted on 300 healthy adults. The termination of public support now throws the future of the project into uncertainty as the H5N1 virus continues to affect cow herds, poultry and other animals, with 70 human cases reported so far.
The Trump administration continues to label mRNA vaccines as “experimental,” ignoring two decades of scientific research and the actual experience of billions of people who have received them without serious side effects.
Meanwhile, biotech Moderna said Wednesday that the early-stage study of its mRNA vaccine against H5 avian flu showed “a rapid, potent and durable immune response.”
“While the termination of funding by HHS adds uncertainty, we are pleased with the robust immune response and safety profile … and will explore alternative pathways for the program,” said Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel. “These clinical data on pandemic influenza underscore the critical role mRNA technology has played as a countermeasure to emerging health threats.”
