RFK Jr.’s endless anti-vax campaign targets the science that could lead to cancer vaccines

There are many reasons for the widespread condemnation of the decision by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. #Kennedy Jr. to cancel half a billion dollars in research and development of #mRNA vaccines. Indeed, halting work on one of the most promising areas of biomedical innovation—one that brought an end to the worst of the #COVID19 pandemic and also promises treatments even for non-respiratory diseases like #cancer—represents an astounding level of short-sightedness.

Operation Warp Speed, one of the biggest achievements of the first #Trump administration, helped compress a novel #vaccine development timeline that previously could take a decade or more into less than a year. And mRNA vaccine technology, which represents a readily modifiable vaccine platform that can be used for countless vaccines, is Operation Warp Speed’s most important legacy. Failing to build on mRNA research now makes the United States more vulnerable to infectious diseases like #influenza or #COVID, to future pandemics, to biological attacks, and to other health threats. And it cedes a critical field of research to other countries and will make it harder for #Americans to access these lifesaving tools.

Rather than embracing mRNA vaccines, Kennedy, a long-time #opponent of vaccines, is putting forward lies based on phony data and false claims in his war on these medical tools. In announcing his no-notice decision to shut down 22 research programs earlier this month, the health secretary said the #government was shifting funding “toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.” Numerous #studies, however, have proven that mRNA vaccines have reduced disease and death from COVID, even as the virus has mutated over the years. And they’ve demonstrated the safety of the technology.

The Health and Human Services Department belatedly posted research online that supposedly justifies Kennedy’s claims, but the nearly 200-page document, according to FactCheck.org, was compiled by people “with a history of spreading unsupported claims about COVID-19 vaccination and treatment” and ignored the many rigorous studies showing vaccine safety and effectiveness.

A rapid response.

During a future #pandemic or other biological #emergency, being able to quickly develop safe and effective vaccines will be key to preventing severe illness and death and to easing stress on a health care system that could otherwise collapse under a surging patient load.

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Read more in the article by Jennifer B. Nuzzo at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

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