Former Trump Surgeon General Warns RFK Jr.’s Move to Cut Vaccine Funding Could Put Lives at Risk
A Big Political Fight Breaks Out Over RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Funding Cut
A big political fight is starting in Washington after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now Health and Human Services Secretary, said that he would not be giving $500 million in funding for research into mRNA vaccines. A former top Trump administration health official called this decision “dangerous.”
When asked about it, Dr. Jerome Adams, who was U.S. Surgeon General under former President Donald Trump, didn’t hold back. Adams said on platform X (formerly Twitter) that Kennedy was undoing years of medical progress and warned that the sudden ending of funds for mRNA projects could be very bad for American public health in the future.
Adams Says RFK Jr.’s Choice Was Careless and Against Science
Adams claims Kennedy’s judgment jeopardizes COVID-19 vaccine development, HIV, Zika, flu, RSV, cancer, and autoimmune disease research. The former surgeon general noted that the NIH, DARPA, and international researchers created mRNA technology over many years. With this technique, the US responded to the COVID-19 outbreak faster than planned.
“These shots weren’t rushed.” They were based on years of science that came from money. “Cutting them off now is not only a bad idea, it’s also dangerous,” Adams wrote.
He also noted that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination has been given over 600 million times in the U.S., proving its safety and efficacy. He claimed calling these vaccines “inherently dangerous” is unscientific and could jeopardize Americans.
Kennedy Backs the Move and Calls for Other Vaccine Plans
Kennedy has been skeptical of vaccines for a long time. He made his choice public through a video message that he shared on his social media accounts. He talked about why his department is moving away from the mRNA vaccine platform and why he didn’t like it in the clip. Kennedy is going to work on other methods instead, like whole-virus vaccines and other things that he thinks might protect against more viruses that are changing.
“We’re working on vaccine plans that won’t fall apart when viruses change.”
“We want solutions that are safer and more powerful,” Kennedy said in the film.
His decision comes after a string of controversial actions as health secretary, such as firing the government group in charge of making vaccine recommendations and downplaying the importance of COVID-19 boosters, all while measles outbreaks spread across the country.
“Let Science Lead,” Says the Health Community in Response
Adams urged lawmakers and people doctors shouldn’t be persuaded by fear or politics. He said the U.S. has always been innovative in biomedicine and should fund lifesaving research.
“We should stress what works even more.”
He said cutting funding would send the wrong message and ruin decades of achievement.
Kennedy claims his move is to make things safer, but many doctors and scientists worry that suspending mRNA research will erase public health advances and make it harder to respond to future epidemics.
As the political tempest continues, this fight is about more than vaccines. It’s about how America gets ready for the next health crisis and how much people believe science.
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