HHS cancels over $700 million in funding for Moderna bird flu vaccine

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday canceled a nearly $600 million grant that was awarded to the pharmacuetical company Moderna to develop a vaccine for the bird flu.

The $590 million contract was awarded by the Biden administration in January, to develop an mRNA-based vaccine against the H5 avian flu. The vaccine trial, which consisted of 300 patients, was still in an early phase.

The department determined that the vaccine project does not meet scientific or safety standards for continued investment.

“After a rigorous review, we concluded that continued investment in Moderna’s H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable,” HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon told CNN. “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.”

The cancellation is on top of the $176 million the Biden administration's HHS awarded the company last year, per Reuters.

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel expressed disappointment in the Trump administration's decision to pull federal funding in a statement, but said the company will "explore alternative paths forward for the program."

"These clinical data in pandemic influenza underscore the critical role mRNA technology has played as a countermeasure to emerging health threats," Bancel added.

The cancellation comes as the United States sees an uptick in bird flu cases. The bird flu has sickened dozens of people and killed one person.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.