Jerome Adams, the U.S. Surgeon General under President Trump's first term, criticized the Department of Health and Human Services' move this week to cut funding for mRNA vaccine development.
"I’ve tried to be objective & non-alarmist in response to current HHS actions – but quite frankly this move is going to cost lives," Adams said in a post on X on Aug. 5.
He added, "mRNA technology has uses that go far beyond vaccines… and the vaccine they helped develop in record time is credited with saving millions."
The HHS, now being led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said in a release on Aug. 5 it is cutting nearly $500 million at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which helps develop mRNA vaccine technology.
Kennedy called the vaccine technology "ineffective" in a video posted on X Aug. 5.
