With the news that RFK Jr – America’s Secretary of Health and Human Services – has cancelled around $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccines research, the question arises of how far political opinion can sway both medical research and society’s trust in science. 

The decision by RFK Jr has been widely criticised with experts and former members of the FDA stating that it positions the US in a worse place to prepare for potential future pandemics. Worse still, Jake Scott, an infectious disease physician, wrote in STAT that Kennedy’s own evidence against mRNA vaccines actually supports their use and uptake. 

Kennedy’s failure to comprehend the science behind mRNA vaccines is a prime example of why political opinion should not influence scientific policies and decision making. Kennedy, a self-professed vaccine sceptic, mirrors the growing concerns large portions of the population have about vaccines. Having such a sceptic at the top level of government can only embolden vaccine sceptics, obscuring the scientific voices people should be listening to and causing downstream consequences for the familial generations who are then led blindly into scientific distrust.  

We can see these attitudes impacting the uptake of vaccinations all across the world. A new global study this year estimated that whilst global coverage for certain vaccines almost doubled since 1980 to 2023, coverage gains slowed between 2010 and 2019, and saw declines in 21 high-income countries. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the report states that the Covid-19 pandemic saw vaccination challenges worsen. Specifically, global rates for vaccines mentioned in the report have declined sharply since 2020 and as of 2023, had still not returned to pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels. 

This year, outbreaks of measles across both the UK and US has exemplified how even high-income countries are at risk of “not listening to the science”. In the US, there have been almost 1,500 cases of measles reported across 42 jurisdictions. Sadly, three people have died from the disease this year, a devastating figure when you contrast that through vaccines, measles is essentially preventative.  

In England, there has been a downward trend for the coverage of the MMR1 vaccine from 2016, and this year saw certain regions such as London fall beneath coverage targets.   

These are worrying times but it’s worth remembering that science continues and innovations are abound – despite global challenges.  

For instance, a team at the University of Queensland and researchers at Moderna have used mRNA vaccine technology to target Strep-A. The team is using insights from the Covid-19 pandemic which saw mRNA technology used against viruses, to target the bacterial pathogens of Strep-A. The research could lead to a vaccine for Strep-A that could reduce the need for antibiotics.  

This is only one example in the industry but it is moves and rhetoric by the likes of RFK Jr that put science and even lives at risk.   

By Reece Armstrong, DDW Editor

From DDW Volume 26 – Issue 4, Fall 2025 – Read the digital issue