Trump Administration Terminates Moderna Bird Flu Vaccine Deal, Undermining Pandemic Preparedness
In a striking reversal of pandemic preparedness efforts, the Trump administration has canceled a $600 million contract with Moderna aimed at developing a human vaccine against H5N1 bird flu—a virus with the potential to spark a national outbreak.
The termination also scrapped a key provision granting the U.S. priority access to doses in the event of a pandemic, dismantling an agreement crafted under the Biden administration to boost national readiness against the evolving bird flu threat. The Moderna initiative had expanded on a $175 million government investment made in 2023.
Although the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had signaled earlier this year that the contract was under review, the cancellation has still raised alarms across the scientific and public health communities.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long questioned the safety of mRNA vaccine technology, played a role in the decision. Moderna’s vaccine design relied on mRNA, the same technology used successfully in Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19 shots, to prime the immune system by delivering a coded message to produce a harmless piece of the virus.
After what it described as a “rigorous review,” the HHS said it found “continued investment in Moderna’s H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable,” according to department spokesman Andrew Nixon.
Moderna, for its part, defended the project and the underlying mRNA platform. The biotech company said it would continue exploring other avenues to develop vaccines targeting potentially pandemic-level influenza strains.
“Results during the pandemic speak for themselves, including demonstrated efficacy and a safety profile established in over a billion people worldwide.”
Public health experts are calling the decision short-sighted, particularly given the nature of bird flu’s current spread. The highly pathogenic H5N1 virus has been detected globally in wild birds, poultry, mammals such as bears and sea lions, and most recently, dairy cattle. Since arriving in the U.S. in 2022, it has triggered the culling of more than 173 million birds and infected over 1,000 cattle herds across 17 states.
At least 70 human cases have been reported, with the majority involving farm or dairy workers. One fatality occurred in January in Louisiana, involving an older adult exposed to infected backyard birds, the first known U.S. death tied to the virus.
While H5N1 has not yet shown sustained human-to-human transmission, virologists warn it could mutate and become highly contagious, underscoring the urgent need for adaptable vaccine platforms. Existing stockpiles of bird flu vaccines are limited and may not offer sufficient protection against future variants.
“Pandemic preparedness is about being proactive, fast and adaptable — the mRNA vaccine platform is all of that,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told The New York Times.
“The rationale given is likely fabricated and more of a function of R.F.K. Jr.’s assault on vaccines, the value of which he evades. Canceling this contract makes the world less safe.”
Jennifer Nuzzo, who leads the Pandemic Center at Brown University, echoed that concern.
“When the next flu pandemic occurs, there is not going to be enough vaccine for everyone who wants it unless we invest to broaden the types of flu vaccines being made and the number of companies that make them. We shouldn’t let politically motivated attempts to unfairly brand mRNA vaccines as dangerous stand in the way of ensuring everyone who wants a pandemic vaccine can get one.”
Critics attribute Kennedy’s unconventional views on disease management as a key factor in the administration’s decision. In a recent interview, he suggested that farmers allow bird flu to run through flocks to study birds that survive the illness for the source of their immunity — an approach many scientists describe as both unethical and dangerous.
Last week, Kennedy publicly urged Canada to halt the planned euthanasia of 400 ostriches exposed to H5N1. Dr. Mehmet Oz, who heads Medicare and Medicaid services, even offered to relocate the birds to his Florida ranch.
Kennedy has a long history of promoting vaccine skepticism, especially toward mRNA vaccines, which he has falsely claimed are the “deadliest” ever developed. Such assertions starkly contradict a broad scientific consensus.
Currently, the federal government holds three other contracts focused on avian flu vaccine development. Still, the Moderna cancellation deals a significant blow to the push for faster, more agile pandemic response tools — and signals a broader resistance within the administration to emerging vaccine technologies.
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.
