Kennedy associate claims admin will ban mRNA COVID vaccines ‘within months’

Near the end of President Donald Trump’s first term, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he hailed as a “monumental achievement” the rapid development and distribution of vaccines against the coronavirus, including the highly-touted variant that used messenger RNA molecules to prompt an immune system response.

Yet, a new report claims, less than five years later, that achievement is set to be significantly rolled back “within months” by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is allegedly set to ban mRNA vaccines, according to Newsweek.

That major claim, however, comes from a solitary source that isn’t officially connected to HHS or the Trump administration, and the White House strongly denied it as “baseless speculation.”

Doctor claims mRNA vaccines will soon be banned

The Daily Beast reported on Monday that Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist and associate of HHS Secretary Kennedy, claimed that Kennedy would move “within months” to take the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines off the market in the U.S.

Malhotra, who is an advisor to the Make America Healthy Again Action lobbyist group — which is not formally affiliated with Kennedy, HHS, or the administration — insisted that the vaccines can be more dangerous to some people than the virus itself, and asserted that the same view was shared by “influential” figures in President Trump’s inner circle, including members of his family.

He further asserted that many of those surrounding Kennedy “cannot understand” why the vaccine is still being prescribed, and stated that it would effectively be banned even if doing so would provoke “fear of chaos” and legal issues.

Scheduled to meet soon with Kennedy and Trump

“It could [happen] in a number of stages, including learning more about the data,” Dr. Malhotra told the Daily Beast of an alleged ongoing review of the mRNA vaccines by HHS’ Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. “But given the increased talk of vaccine injuries in the past few weeks among the administration, it could also come with one clean decision.”

He referenced a 2022 peer-reviewed study published in the Vaccine journal that uncovered “serious adverse events reported in … clinical trials of Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in adults,” as well as a 16% higher risk of “excess serious adverse events” for those who took the mRNA vaccines as compared to those who received a placebo — though that study has been sharply criticized and broadly dismissed by those within the medical community who support the mRNA vaccines.

The Daily Beast reported that Malhotra is slated to meet with President Trump alongside Sec. Kennedy next month to discuss his views about the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, and he told the outlet, “I think [Trump will] get it, because it’s in his interest to. This information is only going in one direction, and there’s something really terribly wrong with the system.”

“I think once [he] understands the situation … that will encourage him to act to change the system,” the doctor added of the president. “He’s in a position to fix it. He can create a lasting legacy by doing so.”

White House denial follows Kennedy’s cut to mRNA funding

The White House was quick to deny the Daily Beast’s report, as spokesman Kush Desai told the outlet, “The Administration is relying on Gold Standard Science and is committed to radical transparency to make decisions that affect all Americans. Unless announced by the Administration, however, any discussion about HHS policy should be dismissed as baseless speculation.”

One plausible impetus for the speculation, admittedly, is Sec. Kennedy’s move earlier this month to substantially reduce funding by around $500 million for mRNA vaccine research under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which included cancelling some existing contracts, restructuring or scaling back other projects, and rejecting solicitations for new contracts.

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” Kennedy said at the time. “BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”

“Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” he added. “That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions.”

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