The Trump administration is canceling almost $500 million in contracts to develop mRNA vaccines to protect the U.S. against future viral threats. The move thrilled critics of the technology but horrified many public health and biosecurity experts.

The federal Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which oversees the nation's defenses against biological attacks, is terminating 22 contracts with university researchers and private companies to develop new uses for the mRNA technology, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday.

The mRNA technology was used by the first Trump administration to create the most commonly used COVID-19 vaccines, which are widely considered a medical triumph that safely and effectively saved millions of

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