Just last week, the U.S. government announced plans to withdraw nearly $500 million in funding for ongoing mRNA vaccine development. This move has caused a firestorm of outrage among Canadian health experts. These cuts would impact the production of human vaccines against bird flu, specifically by canceling Moderna’s contract. This dangerous move puts U.S. pandemic preparedness at risk and has grave consequences for Canada and the Canadian scientific community.
Renowned environmentalist and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., just two weeks into office, made a historic announcement. He stopped 22 mRNA-based projects and announced that no new projects in this space will be authorized. This move has been broadly condemned by public health experts. Specifically, they say the U.S. has played the most critical role in developing and advancing vaccine technologies like mRNA vaccines, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pieter Cullis, a biochemist at the University of British Columbia, called the cuts “bewildering.” His pioneering research on lipid membranes was critical in the rapid development of the COVID-19 vaccines. He noted that this funding was crucial for pushing the most promising technologies that can tackle multiple medical hurdles further along.
“This is the most promising technology we have for diseases – rare diseases, infectious diseases, cancer, cardiovascular, you name it,” – Pieter Cullis
Moreover, the impacts of these cuts go beyond U.S. borders. Allison McGeer, an infectious diseases specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, said her concerns have reached alarm. She emphasized the damage it has done to Canada’s ability to respond to future pandemics. She pointed out that U.S. efforts overwhelmingly shaped the development and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines around the world. As a consequence, Canada reaped the lion’s share of those efforts.
“There’s just no doubt that this puts an enormous hole in the work that’s going on and, even if everybody else in the world tries to step in, it’s going to be hard to make up this loss,” – Allison McGeer
McGeer underscored the increasing difficulty of finding dollars for preventive measures in today’s economic climate. She reiterated the importance of Canadian health authorities not doubling down on U.S. partnerships in future pandemic responses. Second, it is imperative that Canada prepares itself to look beyond government coffers.
“I’m undeniably very anxious that we will lose ground in Canada because we’re looking for funding for prevention. Funding for prevention is always hard and even harder in our current economic situation,” – Allison McGeer
Their worries were echoed by Alberta infectious diseases specialist Lynora Saxinger. She cautioned that Kennedy Jr.’s remarks could lead to increased vaccine hesitancy and opposition. She added that she was concerned that decreased investment in the science would threaten the success of public health efforts.
The cuts have drawn criticism from organizations like the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which stated that such decisions are “deeply concerning and reflect an alarming pattern of the Administration’s efforts to curtail vaccine research and sow unfounded doubt in vaccine safety and effectiveness.”
Canadian experts worry that these changes are indicative of something much larger that could have serious consequences for global health efforts. Cullis also underscored that when funding for mRNA technology is cut, it threatens work that is already in progress. It also jeopardizes bringing a host of future innovations in this nascent but promising field.
