USA stops mRNA research Expert sounds the alarm: "People will die"
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stops 22 mRNA projects because they are allegedly useless. It is remarkable that Jerome Adams now contradicts this with very clear words: Donald Trump made him chief medical officer in 2016.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has canceled 22 mRNA research projects and saved almost 500 million dollars.
- Jerome Adams, whom Donald Trump made Surgeon General in 2016, is now clearly criticizing the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
- The technology has certainly had an impact during the coronavirus pandemic and made new therapies and vaccines possible, for example against the Zika virus.
- Kennedy's decision will cost lives, Adams is certain.
"'Fox News' cheered RFK Jr. for years. Then came his latest vaccine announcement," headlines the US broadcaster MSNBC: "The competition hyped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in order to hoist Donald Trump back into the White House.
They praised him as a "reformer" and "true fighter for healthcare" who had "the skills, knowledge and experience" needed for the job. The recent, far-reaching announcement that the USA would stop the development of mRNA technology, on the other hand, was hardly worth a headline on Fox News.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services "cut federal funding that could have ushered in a new wave of cures," MSNBC frets. Jerome Adams goes even further: "People will die because we cut funding for this technology," warns the former Surgeon General. This is effectively the chief medical officer of the USA, appointed by the President.
What is RFK Jr's problem with mRNA technology? The 71-year-old claims that it "poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses". The corona pandemic has shown that "mRNA vaccines do not work well against viruses that affect the upper respiratory tract". They would even promote mutations in the viruses and prolong pandemics.
Kennedy claims "simply not true"
22 corresponding projects have therefore been stopped, saving almost 500 million dollars. Jerome Adams, who was appointed Surgeon General by Donald Trump in 2016, disagrees: Kennedy's statements on the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines are "simply not true", he told CBS News.
"We know that by the most conservative estimates, up to two million lives have been saved by mRNA technology," Adams said. "It's helped us develop the COVID-19 vaccine in record time. And that's honestly President Trump's greatest achievement."
Without the mRNA process, it would have taken one and a half to two years longer to develop a vaccine, the doctor is certain. Donald Trump pushed for the coronavirus vaccine with Operation Warp Speed, which brought together the public and private sectors.
What has already been achieved with mRNA technology
This effort cannot be overestimated, says " Operation Warp Speed was one of the most incredible things ever done in this country, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat," the 79-year-old himself recently said about the pandemic period.
Adams agrees: Trump deserves a Nobel Prize for this achievement. The fact that his health minister is now undermining this is what the doctor calls "fascinating". He describes mRNA as a "natural molecule that is in every body. It's like a recipe that tells the body how to make a protein."
Even before the pandemic, the technology had already served well - and made vaccines or new treatment methods possible. Adams mentions malignant melanoma, aka black skin cancer, HIV, the Zika virus and influenza. "Such advances will no longer be possible."
