Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy says canceled vaccine research needed to fight pandemics

Ariel Cohen, CQ-Roll Call on Aug 7, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee denounced a decision by the federal government to phase out mRNA vaccine development, warning that could hurt pandemic preparedness.

Others say it the harm will go beyond that, to potentially damage domestic biosecurity.

Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., said the decision, which Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Tuesday, wastes an investment in research worth about $500 million. He also said Kennedy has “conceded to China an important technology needed to combat cancer and infectious disease.”

“President Trump wants to Make America Healthy Again and Make America Great Again,” Cassidy posted Wednesday evening on X. “This works against both of President Trump’s goals.”

The move ended 22 mRNA vaccine development projects for COVID-19 and bird flu at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA.

Cassidy’s vote was critical to confirming Kennedy as HHS secretary. At the time, the senator pledged that he would use his authority as HELP Committee chair to “rebuff any attempts to remove the public’s access to life-saving vaccines without ironclad, causational scientific evidence.”

Asked what steps Cassidy would take to rebuff this recent decision, a spokesperson did not immediately respond.

Others are worried that the decision could create security vulnerabilities. Chris Meekins, a Trump political appointee at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response from 2017-2019, said investments in mRNA allow the U.S. to quickly develop lifesaving vaccines against novel pathogens. If BARDA winds down this research, the country could be left unprepared for the next pandemic, he said.

MRNA vaccines “serve as a deterrent to prevent other nations from using certain biological agents,” Meekins told CQ Roll Call. “The speed of the technology to create new biodefense capabilities is a national security asset.”

Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Disease Society of America, said halting the ongoing research undercuts trust in vaccines at a time when the administration should investing more in research, not less.

The IDSA and National Nurses United each said that Kennedy is casting doubt on mRNA vaccine safety without providing evidence.

“Our country needs every tool in our arsenal to prepare for what scientists have predicted: the frequency and severity of pandemics will grow as climate change and biodiversity losses progress,” National Nurses United said in a statement.