### HHS Cancels Funding for Moderna's Bird Flu Vaccine Citing Safety Concerns

In a surprising turn of events, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has decided to withdraw millions of dollars it had pledged to Moderna for the development of a bird flu vaccine. The decision, announced by Moderna on Wednesday, halts the financial support initially promised by the Biden administration to combat an outbreak affecting dairy cattle.

Last summer, under President Joe Biden’s jurisdiction, HHS announced plans to allocate $176 million to Moderna, followed by an additional $590 million in January, in response to a bird flu virus that had infected 70 individuals since the previous year. Federal health authorities had regarded this initiative as vital for bolstering the nation’s pandemic preparedness.

Moderna's vaccine effort utilized messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which had garnered significant recognition for its role in the widely administered COVID-19 vaccines. However, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been vocal in his criticism of mRNA vaccines. Earlier this week, Kennedy declared that COVID-19 shots would no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, reflecting the skepticism between him and the medical community, which maintains that mRNA vaccines are both safe and effective.

On Wednesday, Moderna revealed it had obtained encouraging interim data from an early-stage clinical trial involving approximately 300 healthy adults aged 18 and older, showing positive immune response and safety results. Despite these findings, the abrupt cessation of federal funding casts doubt on the future progress and development of the bird flu vaccine. Moderna indicated it would seek alternative avenues for advancing the vaccine’s late-stage development and manufacturing.

“These clinical data in pandemic influenza underscore the critical role mRNA technology has played as a countermeasure to emerging health threats,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, in a statement highlighting the interim data results.

An HHS spokesperson, Andrew Nixon, emphasized that the funding withdrawal followed a "rigorous review." Nixon remarked, "This is not simply about efficacy - it's about safety, integrity, and trust," adding that "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."

The outbreak of H5N1 in dairy cattle since spring 2024 has resulted in the infection of more than 1,000 herds across 17 states, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Although cases in humans have been limited, with 70 individuals infected mostly experiencing mild symptoms and recovery, the virus has led to one death—a man over 65 with underlying conditions in Louisiana succumbed in January after exposure to backyard poultry flocks. No recent human cases have been reported, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.