WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., pressing him on his recent reckless decisions to slash funding for critical vaccine development. In May, the Trump Administration announced that it would cut off millions of dollars that the federal government had committed to the development of the critical bird flu vaccine, and HHS abruptly ended an over-$250 million program to develop an AIDS vaccine.
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“This is a grievous mistake that threatens to leave the country unprepared for what experts fear might be the next pandemic – and there appears to be no rationale for this decision other than your ill-informed and dangerous war on vaccines,” wrote the Senators.
In January, HHS championed the development of new vaccines to make sure "Americans have the tools they need to stay safe.” Now, the RFK Jr.-led HHS is ripping those tools away — tools which would save lives and save billions in health care costs over time.
An HHS spokesperson indicated that the decision to cut funding for the bird flu vaccine was made following a "rigorous review.” Another senior HHS official claimed that the decision to slash funding for the HIV vaccine was made after a “review by N.I.H. (National Institutes of Health) leadership.” HHS has made neither review available to the American public.
“You have failed to justify either of these moves to (ruin) vaccine research,” continued the Senators. “This is just the latest example that calls into question your commitment to ‘radical transparency.’”
“The public has little reason to trust your judgment or your review of the science surrounding vaccines or any aspect of public health,” concluded the Senators.
The Administration also recently released its “Make America Healthy Again” report, containing numerous references and citations that were fully fabricated. RFK Jr. himself has long peddled anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and spread harmful misinformation.
The lawmakers requested copies of the “rigorous review” that resulted in the termination of funding for the bird flu vaccine and the “review by N.I.H. leadership” that prompted the termination of funding for AIDS vaccine research. The lawmakers also requested a detailed description of the process by which HHS decided to end these contracts, including whether it was based on a recommendation by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) officials.
