The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it is winding down government support for messenger-RNA vaccines, directing BARDA to cancel or shrink 22 contracts and grant solicitations valued at almost $500 million. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said a review of scientific data showed that the shots “fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu,” and pledged to redirect the money toward “safer, broader vaccine platforms” that he argues will remain effective as viruses mutate. The decision halts late-stage development projects such as Moderna’s H5N1 bird-flu shot and terminates pending awards sought by Pfizer, Sanofi, CSL Seqirus, Gritstone and several academic partners. BARDA will allow a handful of mRNA contracts that are nearly complete, including Arcturus Therapeutics’ bird-flu study, to finish but said no new mRNA projects will be initiated. Public-health specialists, industry executives and national-security analysts warned that the retreat could slow the nation’s ability to respond rapidly to future outbreaks and bioterror threats. Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota called it “one of the most dangerous public-health decisions in 50 years,” while the American Medical Association urged the administration to “continue vital research to improve mRNA vaccines, not throw the baby out with the bathwater.” The move marks another sharp policy pivot under the second Trump administration, which previously championed mRNA technology through Operation Warp Speed. President Donald Trump told reporters he would meet with Kennedy to discuss the cancellations. For now, HHS said other uses of mRNA technology outside respiratory-virus vaccines remain unaffected.