What does RFK Jr's stop on mRNA vaccine development mean for rest of the world?

Effects of the funding cut could be 'measured in human lives'

Photo composite illustration of RFK Jr, vaccine researchers and viral cells
Kennedy's move has caused horror among experts in the field
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

The US health secretary's cancellation of nearly $500 million-worth of funding for multiple mRNA vaccine projects has been described as a dangerous decision for public health.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a long-standing vaccine sceptic, is pulling funding for work on vaccines and therapeutics that help protect us against respiratory viruses like Covid-19, influenza and H5N1 bird flu.

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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.