NIH director: Lack of public trust led to contract cuts
Leader of the National Institutes of Health Jay Bhattacharya is offering a new explanation on why the federal government is pivoting away from investing in mRNA platforms.
Bhattacharya said in a recent episode of the podcast “War Room” and then again in an opinion piece in The Washington Post, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) chose to cancel millions of dollars in mRNA contracts because the American public does not trust the technology.
His reasoning differs from the explanation HHS Secretary Kennedy gave for canceling $500 million worth of mRNA contracts last week. Kennedy justified the move by claiming the technology does not meet “current scientific standards.”
Bhattacharya called mRNA a promising technology that could lead to better treatments for diseases like cancer. But he expressed concern over just how much antigen mRNA vaccines produce and leave in the body, even though other types of vaccines share the same issue and are considered safe and effective.
Bhattacharya blamed public distrust in mRNA on vaccine mandates and other public health safety measures issued under the Biden administration, arguing that his administration did not properly address concerns about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.
“As a vaccine intended for broad public use, especially during a public health emergency, the platform has failed a crucial test: earning public trust,” he wrote.
“No matter how elegant the science, a platform that lacks credibility among the people it seeks to protect cannot fulfill its public health mission.”
Bhattacharya received national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for being an outspoken critic of lockdown measures and vaccine mandates.
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering revoking the authorization of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children younger than 5 years old, a move that would add another barrier for parents who want to vaccinate healthy children ahead of the respiratory virus season. Pfizer’s three-dose shot for children between 6 months and 5 years old has long been available under an emergency use authorization (EUA). …
Only 54 percent of American adults say they consume alcohol, according to Gallup, the lowest in the survey’s 90-year history by 1 percentage point. The low metric was repeated across several demographic angles, including gender, race and age. Fifty-seven percent of men reported drinking alcohol, compared to 51 percent of women. White adults, at 56 percent, were more likely to drink than people of color, at 52 percent. Adults …
DALLAS (KNWA) — Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones says he has “no tumors” after dealing with stage 4 cancer and using an experimental trial drug. Jones, 82, said in an interview with the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday that he was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma in 2010 and started treatment shortly after. Roughly 105,000 new melanomas are expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year, according …
