US health department to pull S$644 million in funding for mRNA vaccine development

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be terminating 22 federal contracts to develop mRNA-based vaccines, which fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu.

In a statement released on Aug. 5, the HHS announced the start of a "coordinated wind-down" of mRNA vaccine projects under its Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

BARDA had invested billions of dollars in the development of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, according to Reuters.

The HHS explained that the new move follows a comprehensive review of the U.S.'s mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted," said U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a longtime vaccine critic.

He added that the vaccine projects being cancelled had been shown by data to "fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu".

The impacted projects, worth nearly US$500 million (about S$644 million), are led by major pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer and Moderna, for vaccines to prevent COVID-19, bird flu, and other viruses, AP reported.

Some contracts in their final stage will be allowed to continue to preserve prior taxpayer investment. No new mRNA-based projects will be initiated.

The HHS will be shifting the funding towards alternative vaccine strategies "like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don’t collapse when viruses mutate", Kennedy said in a video.

What health experts say

The project terminations is the HHS's latest move under Kennedy's helm in significantly shifting the U.S.'s policy on vaccines.

In June 2025, Kennedy abruptly fired the entire U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices, and self-appointed their replacements, which included several vaccine sceptics, NBC reported.

However, Kennedy's questioning of mRNA vaccine safety has been criticised and debunked by many doctors and health experts.

Infectious disease experts have credited mRNA vaccines for slowing the COVID-19 pandemic and saving millions of lives, AP reported.

They also said the vaccines are safe and crucial for stopping future pandemics.

"I don’t think I've seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business," Mike Osterholm, an expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, told AP.

Top images from Unsplash and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s X