The Trump administration axes over $750 million in Moderna vaccine funding due to safety concerns about “under-tested” mRNA technology, marking a significant shift in federal health policy.
Key Takeaways
- The Trump administration has terminated more than $750 million in funding to Moderna for mRNA-based bird flu vaccines, citing safety and oversight concerns.
- HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon called mRNA technology “under-tested” and criticized the previous administration for concealing “legitimate safety concerns.”
- The decision aligns with broader changes to federal vaccine policy, including removing COVID-19 vaccines from recommended lists for children and pregnant women.
- Moderna defended its bird flu vaccine, reporting strong immune responses in early trials and plans to pursue alternative funding paths.
- Public health experts are divided, with some expressing concern about growing anti-vaccine sentiment while others support more rigorous safety evaluations.
Trump Administration Prioritizes Vaccine Safety Over Rushed Development
The Department of Health and Human Services under President Trump’s leadership has made a decisive move to terminate over $750 million in funding previously awarded to Moderna for mRNA-based bird flu vaccines. This significant policy shift represents a fundamental reevaluation of the rushed vaccine development that characterized the COVID-19 response. The funding, which included $590 million and $176 million awarded under the Biden administration, was cut following concerns about inadequate testing and potential safety issues with mRNA technology, which formed the basis of both Moderna and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines that faced criticism for side effects including myocarditis.
“After a rigorous review, we concluded that continued investment in Moderna’s H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable. This is not simply about efficacy — it’s about safety, integrity, and trust. The reality is that mRNA technology remains under-tested, and we are not going to spend taxpayer dollars repeating the mistakes of the last administration, which concealed legitimate safety concerns from the public,” Stated Andrew Nixon
The decision marks a clear contrast from the previous administration’s approach to vaccine development and public health. Trump officials specifically cited a lack of oversight during Biden’s tenure as a primary reason for terminating the funding, suggesting that proper safety protocols were not followed in the rush to deploy new vaccine technologies. A Senate Republican report added weight to these concerns, indicating that the Biden administration may have withheld critical safety data and downplayed risks associated with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines – a serious breach of public trust in essential health institutions.
Moderna Defends mRNA Technology Despite Funding Loss
Moderna has pushed back against the funding termination, highlighting what they describe as positive results from early-phase trials of their mRNA-based H5 bird flu vaccine. The company reported that approximately 300 healthy adults showed strong immune responses to the vaccine during testing. Despite losing substantial government funding, Moderna’s leadership indicated they would seek alternative paths to continue the program, reflecting the financial stakes involved in advanced vaccine technology development and the company’s commitment to the mRNA platform that transformed it from a relatively unknown biotech firm to a pharmaceutical giant.
“While the termination of funding from HHS adds uncertainty, we are pleased by the robust immune response and safety profile observed in this interim analysis of the Phase 1/2 study of our H5 avian flu vaccine and we will explore alternative paths forward for the program,” Stated Stephane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna
The controversy highlights the tension between rapid vaccine development and ensuring proper safety protocols are followed. While Moderna maintains that their early trials showed promising results, the HHS concluded that the project failed to meet scientific and safety expectations necessary for continued taxpayer investment. This disagreement reflects broader divisions within the medical community about the appropriate balance between innovation and caution when developing new vaccine technologies that will be administered to millions of Americans.
Public Health Implications and Pandemic Preparedness
The Trump administration’s decision to cut Moderna’s funding is part of a broader reevaluation of federal vaccine priorities. This includes removing COVID-19 vaccines from the recommended list for children and pregnant women, signaling a more cautious approach to vaccination policies generally. These changes aim to restore public confidence in health agencies by ensuring that only thoroughly tested vaccines receive government endorsement and funding. The policy shift recognizes the legitimate concerns many Americans have expressed about the rapid development and deployment of mRNA vaccines during the pandemic.
“The attack on mRNA vaccines is beyond absurd,” Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and the White House Covid-19 response coordinator in the Biden administration, said Wednesday on social media. “It was President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed that gave us mRNA vaccines. These vaccines have been administered nearly 2 billion times to hundreds of millions of people around the world – making it one of the most widely used and widely studied vaccines in human history. They are safe and work well,” Stated Dr. Ashish Jha
For pandemic preparedness, the decision does raise questions about America’s readiness to respond to potential bird flu outbreaks. The United States currently maintains older technology vaccines against H5 viruses in its Strategic National Stockpile, but these may not provide the same level of protection as newer formulations. The administration’s stance appears to prioritize thorough safety testing over speed of development – a position that many conservatives have advocated for since the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic when concerns about rushed vaccines were often dismissed as misinformation despite later proving valid in some cases.
