Kennedy’s rejection of mRNA vaccines thwarts scientific progress — and threatens national security, experts say The technology is seen as a critical first-line tool in the event of bioterrorism

https://www.statnews.com/2025/08/07/kennedy-mrna-vaccines-national-security/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8_VxHYw-VomJQwVvoq5oTDE-20gSSRSvstCbCU4FhVKeJMzFhTXb_C5Ezuuwkn1rRCX1qNw4r4fC4E_UlIwF_iDYC69A&_hsmi=374976055&utm_content=374976055&utm_source=hs_email Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to discontinue funding of the development of messenger RNA vaccines is not just alarming for the country’s ability to combat future pandemics. It’s also a threat to national security. Kennedy announced Tuesday that the division responsible for developing medical countermeasures for natural and bioterror threats would cease funding work on mRNA vaccines. If the United States were ever to be targeted in a bioterrorism attack, it would now be less prepared for that emergency, security experts say. As the development of Covid-19 shots in 2020 illustrated, mRNA technology can shave crucial months off the timeline of vaccine deliveries. “We’re unilaterally disarming ourselves in a period in which the bio threats are continuing to proliferate,” said Stephen Morrison, director for global health policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. “It’s reckless. It’s putting Americans at risk.”