RFK Jr. pulls funding for vaccines being developed to fight respiratory viruses Health Aug 5, 2025 6:54 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu.

READ MORE: The powerful technology behind the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , the health secretary and a longtime vaccine critic, announced in a statement Tuesday that $500 million worth of vaccine development projects, all using mRNA technology, will be halted.

The projects — 22 of them — are being led by some of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Moderna to prevent flu, COVID-19 and H5N1 infections.

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