The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., just announced a “coordinated wind-down” of mRNA vaccine development. That includes the termination of 22 research contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and a moratorium on new agreements being initiated.
In a statement, Kennedy claimed that the move was informed by evidence that “these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.” However, as many experts have since been quick to point out, the overwhelming scientific consensus says the complete opposite.
mRNA vaccines are safe and effective
These vaccine platforms are undeniably effective at preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19. mRNA platforms are some of our best hopes for the development of new flu vaccines that could protect us in the event of another pandemic.
Promising research suggests they could offer new weapons against some of our oldest foes, like tuberculosis. And strides are being made to leverage this technology in cancer treatment, with clinical trials already underway. We could even see a universal cancer vaccine in the not-too-distant future, thanks to mRNA.
None of this would be proceeding at this pace if there were genuine reasons to fear that mRNA vaccines are causing serious harm. While “mRNA vaccine” became a household term only recently, a large part of the reason why the COVID vaccines were able to be developed so quickly is that people had been exploring the possibilities of this Nobel Prize-winning technology long before 2020.
These vaccines have been extensively studied, both during development and since they have been administered to millions of people, demonstrating that they are safe and effective.
Side effects are unavoidable with any medical treatment. Vaccines are no exception. No one is claiming that serious adverse effects – even deaths – cannot occur as a result of vaccination. However, these risks have to be balanced against the benefits of a given vaccine, as is the case for all types of medical interventions.
A 2024 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine looked at 19 potential harms associated with COVID-19 vaccines and found a causal link with myocarditis (heart inflammation). This is a known side effect of these vaccines, which has been seen to occur primarily in young adult men.
On the other hand, no causal link could yet be established between mRNA vaccines and other potential harms, including infertility and heart attacks.
And importantly, even the established side effects are not common.
“It is important to note […] that identifying a harm does not mean that it occurs frequently,” said committee vice chair Professor Anne Bass in a statement. “Harms associated with vaccines are rare.”
This report was only one among the many that indicate that mRNA vaccination rarely causes serious harm.
Other objections to mRNA technology have come from a fundamental misunderstanding of how it works. Claims that mRNA can somehow alter your DNA are often made by vaccine skeptics, but this is simply not possible.
mRNA is incapable of integrating into the host cell’s genetic material. It cannot even enter the nucleus, where DNA is stored. Nor does the mRNA molecule hang around long enough to feasibly cause lasting genetic effects.
“This sets back vaccine science by a decade”
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, this move by HHS appears to be another example of policy decisions being based more on misinformation and the personal agendas of the people involved than available science – and experts are fearful of the impact it may have.
“This sets back vaccine science by a decade,” said Andrew Pekosz, PhD, Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at Johns Hopkins University, in a post on X.
“Of course they didn’t read the science or listen to the experts… if they did, they wouldn’t have made this decision.”
“This will impoverish American resilience to future pandemics. But more importantly, it will be used by some to legitimise unfounded claims that mRNA vaccines and vaccines in general are unsafe,” commented Professor Robin Shattock of Imperial College London to Science Media Centre. “This is directly opposite to the scientific evidence-based approach to science.”
One claim Kennedy specifically made in the press release was that moving away from mRNA vaccines would allow for a focus on “safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”
But as Professor Charles Bangham, Professor Emeritus of Immunology at Imperial College London, explains, mRNA vaccines are really the ones we should be looking to when it comes to viruses like flu, which mutate all the time.
“mRNA vaccines have two great advantages over other types of vaccine: a vaccine against a new variant virus can be produced in large quantities very quickly, and they can quickly be adapted to contain a combination of mRNAs, to give protection against several variants simultaneously.”
Similarly, renowned scientist, advocate, and communicator Professor Peter Hotez, Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, opined on X that HHS’s stated aim to shift vaccine development priorities away from mRNA towards “whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms” is “untethered from reality.”
Hotez explains some of the historical issues with whole-virus vaccines, including their unreliability and the risk of serious adverse events. Given that, he asks, “Why does [Kennedy] pick the least desirable technology?”
We can’t know for certain exactly what the long-term impacts of winding back mRNA vaccine research funding will be. But we can make educated guesses, based on what we know about antivaccine sentiment more generally.
The latest US federal data shows that vaccine exemptions for kids are on the up, meaning less coverage of key childhood shots like the MMR. Meanwhile, over 1,000 people have been sickened in measles outbreaks this year – and that’s just one of the diseases that vaccination programs seek to prevent.
“At a time when vaccination rates are falling globally, we need to follow the evidence, not ideologically led beliefs,” commented Dr David Elliman, an Honorary Associate Professor at University College London. “Such misguided beliefs are likely to cause unnecessary suffering and death, particularly in children.”
Source Link: RFK Jr Pulls Millions Of Dollars Of mRNA Vaccine Funding, Citing Misinformation – Here's What To Know
