With a hostile political atmosphere making investors increasingly wary of vaccine-related research in the US, firms are winding down development programs, shelving manufacturing plans, and laying off workers. While these responses are understandable, they are short-sighted.
CAMBRIDGE – A key takeaway from the Senate confirmation hearing for Casey Means – the medical-school graduate turned “wellness influencer” who is President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next US Surgeon General – is that US vaccine policy remains a hostage to ideology. Exemplified by the policies of Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., it is an ideology that is chilling vaccine investment and destabilizing product development and testing, with potentially grave consequences for human health and America’s innovative capacity.
