WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - The Trump administration is scrapping dozens of federally funded vaccine research projects cutting nearly half a billion dollars in funding aimed at combating respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 and the flu.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced this week that it will terminate 22 vaccine development programs, many of them focused on advancing mRNA technology.

“HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who defended the decision as part of a broader effort to redirect federal health spending. “We're prioritizing vaccine platforms like whole-virus vaccines that don’t collapse when viruses mutate,” he added.

The move comes amid a rise in outbreaks of diseases such as meas

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