The Trump administration is terminating 22 contracts focused on developing mRNA vaccines and winding down additional federal investments in mRNA technology , Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday .

Many scientists and infectious disease experts swiftly denounced the move as a broadside on an area of research seen as particularly promising after its use in rapidly developing COVID vaccines .

The projects that are being axed were funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a Department of Health and Human Services program that works with the pharmaceutical industry to develop vaccines and other countermeasures for public health emergencies.

“This isn’t just about vaccines,” Rick Bright, who directed BARDA from

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