RFK Jr.'s cancellation of mRNA vaccine research is even worse than it first seemed

On first glance, the data that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited to justify canceling some $500 million in federal grants for mRNA vaccine research looked impressive.

The data, according to the agency, were embodied in some 400 research papers listed in a compilation that ran to 181 pages. The document was headlined “COVID-19 mRNA ‘vaccine’ harms research collection.”

“After reviewing the science and consulting top experts at NIH and FDA,” Kennedy said on a video posted on X, referring to the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, “HHS has determined that mRNA technology poses more risk than benefits” for respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 and flu. “We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” he wrote in an accompanying post.

Is that so? A close look at the so-called data reveals that the vast majority of the cited papers — all but about 40 — have little or nothing to do with the vaccines. They concern the consequences of COVID-19 infection, not the shots.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-08-12/rfk-jr-s-cancellation-of-mrna-vaccine-research