SAN ANTONIO – The federal government’s decision to slash $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine research has sparked concern among health experts.
“The news that we’re going to block a Nobel prize-winning technology, mRNA technology for the purposes of vaccine, is quite disheartening to the entire biomedical and health care community,” said Dr. Larry Schlesinger, the president and CEO of Texas Biomedical Research Institute on San Antonio’s west side.
Earlier this week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the secretary of Health and Human Services, said the federal government will cut $500 million in funding for vaccine research using mRNA technology in COVID-19 and flu vaccines.
>> What to know about mRNA vaccines
Schlesinger believes cutting millions of dollars in funding for research on vaccines, specifically mRNA technology that was used in the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, is a backward move by the federal government.
He said the U.S. should continue to move forward in vaccine research. Support through federal funding is critical, he said.
“I’m interested in saving human lives and an investment in all kinds of vaccine technology is an investment in public health,” Schlesinger said.
Texas Biomed was instrumental in helping Pfizer develop the COVID-19 vaccine that used mRNA technology.
“One of the greatest victories of the current administration’s past administration was Operation Warp Speed, where in 11 months, the mRNA vaccines were rolled out and put in the arms of people,” Schlesinger said. “The facts are there that this vaccine saved millions of lives in the U.S. and globally.”
The $500 million cut isn’t expected to impact Texas Biomed, he said, but research on vaccines and human health will take a hit.
“My bigger concern is with the next pandemic, and we have so much vaccine hesitancy and misinformation that even less people will want to be protected,” he said.
The mRNA technology is also being researched as a cure for cancer.
“I think the new cancer science is moving very quickly,” Schlesinger said. “We all know about immunotherapy, which is saving lives currently, but the ultimate goal is to get past all of these very toxic drugs for cancer, radiation, etc., and look at developing vaccine platforms to prevent cancer. This is terribly exciting, and mRNA is one of those platforms being explored for that purpose.”
Kennedy said the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine poses more risks than benefits.
Schlesinger disagreed, saying rigorous scientific evidence backs that up.
Social media has played a big part in vaccine misinformation, he said. He encouraged the public to continue to listen to scientists when it comes to life-saving research.
“We can’t say anything is 100% safe,” Schlesinger said. “But what I can say through clinical trials there’s rigorous, rigorous science to bring something to the market. The FDA is one of the most rigorous regulatory agencies in the world with regard to bringing something to market. We need to move more quickly. I think if we get caught and we have a lot of vaccine hesitancy and then the next bug comes around, we’ll be less prepared.”