After the U.S. Senate report on the potential adverse effects of the mRNA vaccines for Covid, it is little wonder Americans have a substantial distrust of the new products being pushed by Big Pharma.
Clearly, the Trump administration is following up on its Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) promises and is cutting fiscal ties to pharmaceutical firms.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has now canceled more than $700 million in funding and contracts previously awarded to Moderna for the late-stage development of its mRNA-based bird flu (H5N1) vaccine for humans.
The Trump administration has canceled a contract awarded to Moderna (MRNA.O)for the late-stage development of its bird flu vaccine for humans, as well as the right to purchase shots, the drugmaker announced on Wednesday.Shares of Moderna were flat in after-market trading.Moderna in January was awarded $590 million by the Biden administration to advance the development of its bird flu vaccine, and support the expansion of clinical studies for up to five additional subtypes of pandemic influenzaThis was in addition to $176 million awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last year to complete the late-stage development and testing of a pre-pandemic mRNA-based vaccine against the H5N1 avian influenza.
Keep in mind that the worst effects in the 70 humans in this country that contracted the illness (either through contact with fluids from infected poultry or cows) were pink eye and a nasty cold.
Intriguingly, the contract was canceled, in part, because of ethical concerns.
Andrew Nixon, a Health and Human Services spokesman, said: “After a rigorous review, we concluded that continued investment in Moderna’s H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable.”Moderna said it would explore alternatives for developing the vaccines covered by the contract, which were to be designed for several types of flu viruses that have the potential to cause a pandemic.
Nixon also referenced safety concerns in the official explanation as to why the contract was terminated, which seemed to hearken back to what the Senate report revealed about hiding information from the public about mRNA vaccines.
In a statement, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the decision was made after a “rigorous review.”“This is not simply about efficacy — it’s about safety, integrity, and trust,” Nixon said.“The reality is that mRNA technology remains under-tested, and we are not going to spend taxpayer dollars repeating the mistakes of the last administration, which concealed legitimate safety concerns from the public.”
As a reminder, under the Biden administration, Moderna received a $176 million base award in July 2024 for development of an H5N1 vaccine, followed by a $590 million contract in January 2025 (as Biden was exiting the Oval Office) to support late-stage clinical trials and expand pandemic flu vaccine development.
Speaking of bird flu, a review of the current news indicates that one of the largest egg producers was severely hit with an outbreak recently.
A West Valley farm and one of the largest egg producers in the U.S. confirmed on Friday that it has lost nearly its entire chicken population in Arizona due to bird flu and will be forced to reduce staff.Hickman’s Family Farms president and CEO Glenn Hickman made the announcement during a news conference on Friday afternoon….He says hens at one of the farms began showing symptoms two weeks ago. Swabs were sent to the University of Arizona for analysis, and bird flu was detected.“We shut down all traffic between farms and all personnel; everything we possibly could do to isolate that farm, and it didn’t work,” Hickman explained. “We’ve been slowly losing the other three farms plus our replacement pullet flock over the past two weeks.”
However, there is good news. Thanks to the Trump administration allowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to take the lead on the response, there has been an overall decline in the number of cases.
In recent months, the United States has seen a notable decline in avian influenza (bird flu) cases among poultry, thanks in part to enhanced biosecurity measures and targeted containment strategies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported a significant drop in outbreaks across commercial egg-laying operations, particularly in the Midwest and South, where the virus had previously devastated flocks and disrupted the egg supply chain….Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins emphasized a new strategy that prioritizes enhanced farm-level biosecurity and targeted medication over mass culling. “We’re moving away from reactive measures and toward proactive resilience,” Rollins said during a recent roundtable with poultry industry leaders in Texas.
Hopefully, this policy success will continue.
Truly, it would be helpful if scientists did not gain-of-function known pathogens and then release them into the wild…either accidentally or intentionally.
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