On August 5, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a “coordinated wind-down” of mRNA vaccine development at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the agency that prepares the country's defenses against pandemics and biological attacks. In total it affected 22 projects worth nearly $500 million, according to HHS. Some final-stage contracts, including Arcturus and Amplitude, were allowed to run their course, but no new mRNA projects will be started, and BARDA's venture partner was told to stop all mRNA equity investments. HHS said other uses of mRNA in the department were not affected.
Kennedy said BARDA was ending the investments because the data show “these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.” He said, “Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” and HHS said BARDA would shift toward “whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms.” Children's Health Defense, the group Kennedy founded, welcomed the decision.
Public health and biodefense experts objected. Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota told NPR, “This may be the most dangerous public health judgment that I've seen in my 50 years in this business.” Chris Meekins, a top biodefense official in the first Trump administration, said, “I think that it endangers the national security of the United States.” Rick Bright, who ran BARDA during the first Trump administration, said, “We're taking our country from 2025 back to 1940.” Bill Moss of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said Kennedy “made the false statement that these vaccines are not effective against respiratory viruses,” and that “The biggest impact is going to be on our preparedness and national security for the next emerging pathogen or pandemic.”
The cancellations followed HHS's May 28, 2025 termination of a contract with Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine against H5 bird flu, which CNN reported was worth $590 million (NPR put the canceled Moderna funding at $766 million). Moderna said an early trial in about 300 healthy adults showed “a rapid, potent and durable immune response.” HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said continued investment “was not scientifically or ethically justifiable.” At the time, H5N1 had sickened dozens of people in the United States and killed one, CNN reported.
A September 2025 Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations minority staff report, released by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, counted the mRNA cancellations among 57 instances in which the administration had undermined science since January 20, 2025.
Update (October 2, 2026): A second tracker entry on the same BARDA cancellations has been merged into this one.
Correction (October 2, 2026): This entry and the merged one included claims their sources do not support, and they have been removed: that Kennedy fired FDA vaccine regulator Peter Marks for refusing to edit vaccine safety databases, that all 17 vaccine advisers were replaced with skeptics, and that the cancellations reflect “ideology over science.” The summary now quotes HHS's release, NPR, Johns Hopkins and CNN directly, and the Senate report it cited is linked at its current address.