WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hailed as a “medical miracle” the mRNA vaccines developed to combat the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Now, his health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is effectively halting the vaccine technology’s advancement. Kennedy announced Tuesday that the federal government is canceling $500 million worth of mRNA research development contracts, putting an end to U.S.-backed hopes for the vaccine technology to prevent future pandemics, treat cancer or prevent flu infections.

It's a sharp pivot from how Trump and top officials described the technology during his first term.

Here's a look at what Trump and some of his closest advisers have said about mRNA vaccines that were credited with slowing the pandemic five years ago.

Robert Redfield, Trump's dire

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