Trump administration's HHS cancels 22 mRNA vaccine contracts totaling roughly $500 million, with Secretary Kennedy announcing a transition to "safer" alternatives.

Messenger RNA vaccines have proven to be effective and are safer than standard vaccines, because they have fewer side effects; also, since viruses tend to mutate, updated mRNA vaccines can be produced more quickly than standard methods.

HHS canceled federal funding for mRNA vaccine development. Experts said this could affect our preparedness for future pandemics and innovations like cancer vaccines.

The mRNA molecule eventually breaks down in the body. The Cleveland Clinic reports that the risks of mRNA vaccines include pain or swelling at the injection site, fever, fatigue, headaches, muscle aches and allergic reactions.

Adams, who served as surgeon general during the first Trump administration, said Kennedy's assertions about the efficacy of mRNA vaccines are "simply not true."

His claim is contradicted by scientific evidence. Countless studies show that vaccinated individuals fare far better against COVID-19 infections than those who are unvaccinated, while others have estimated that COVID-19 vaccines prevented millions of deaths during the global pandemic.

The top public health officials during Trump's first term praised mRNA vaccines. In the second term, officials seem to be retreating from them.

On the evening of Aug. 5, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted a 2 1/2-minute video to X announcing that the Department of Health and Human Services was canceling some $500 million in mRNA vaccine research via 22 contracts from the department’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.