The Trump administration is slashing funding for vaccine development. Add your name to demand they support vaccine research and protect our health.
Dear MoveOn member,
Right now, vaccine-preventable diseases are resurging—and Trump's anti-science agenda is gaining momentum.
The Trump administration recently canceled a $766 million contract with the pharmaceutical company Moderna to continue developing a vaccine against potential pandemic flu viruses, including the bird flu.1 This decision was directed by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has touted dangerous disinformation about vaccines, including that the COVID-19 vaccine was "deadly."2
RFK Jr.'s unfounded claims about bird flu are causing experts to sound the alarm. He has carelessly suggested that farmers should allow bird flu to run unchecked, a plan that scientists are calling "inhumane and dangerous."3
This is a critical moment to double down on vaccine development—not cancel it. Will you sign the petition to demand that Trump and RFK Jr. restore critical funding?
As highly infectious diseases like measles spread, HHS budget cuts are disrupting vaccine programs and shuttering clinics nationwide.4
Once again, the Trump administration is putting debunked science ahead of public health. They cited Moderna's use of messenger RNA technology as a reason to pull funding for the bird flu vaccine—despite its overwhelming success during the COVID-19 pandemic.5
From bird flu to measles, vaccine research and development is essential for our health and safety. Sign the petition calling on the Trump administration to fully fund vaccine research, including for the bird flu.
These aren't hypothetical threats. The bird flu has already devastated the commercial poultry industry after 173 million birds were culled—causing the price of eggs to skyrocket.6 And while the 70 people infected have been mostly farm workers, the virus is continuing to spread aggressively among cattle herds and poultry flock, raising concern about how it will mutate and become more infectious between humans.7
We need strong investment in vaccine research to protect our communities. But instead of ramping up funding, the Trump administration is cutting it—with RFK Jr. leading the charge. Add your name to the petition.
Although a judge temporarily blocked the cuts, they've already resulted in canceled vaccine clinics and job losses in states.8 In Arizona, Pima County had to cancel 20 vaccine events offering COVID and flu shots down due to the funding shortfalls, leaving families in rural areas without easy access to essential vaccines.9 In Washington state, vaccine clinics that typically attract Spanish-speaking families whose insurance might not cover flu vaccines—or other childhood vaccines schools require—are being forced to cancel events.10
The director of Brown University School of Public Health’s Pandemic Center said it plainly: "When the next flu pandemic occurs, there is not going to be enough vaccine for everyone who wants it unless we invest to broaden the types of flu vaccines being made and the number of companies that make them."11
This is the time to invest in science, not slash it. Add your name to call on Trump and RFK Jr. to fully restore vaccine research funding now.
Thanks for all you do.
–Toni, Aliya, Nakia, Alex, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "US cancels more than $700 million funding for Moderna bird flu vaccine," Reuters, May 29, 2025
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-cancels-more-700-million-funding-moderna-bird-flu-vaccine-2025-05-28/
2. "U.S. Cancels Contract With Moderna to Develop Bird Flu Vaccine," The New York Times, May 29, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/health/moderna-trump-bird-flu-vaccine-contract.html
3. Ibid.
4. "As measles spreads, federal budget cuts force closure of vaccine clinics," NPR, April 10, 2025
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/04/10/nx-s1-5357471/measles-outbreak-hhs-federal-budget-cuts-vaccine-clinics
5. "RFK Jr. Thinks What We Need Right Now Is More Bird Flu," Vanity Fair, May 29, 2025
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/rfk-jr-thinks-what-we-need-right-now-is-more-bird-flu
6. "U.S. Cancels Contract With Moderna to Develop Bird Flu Vaccine," The New York Times, May 29, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/health/moderna-trump-bird-flu-vaccine-contract.html
7. Ibid.
8. "As measles spreads, federal budget cuts force closure of vaccine clinics," NPR, April 10, 2025
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/04/10/nx-s1-5357471/measles-outbreak-hhs-federal-budget-cuts-vaccine-clinics
9. Ibid.
10. "Vaccine clinics canceled, health jobs cut as feds rescind grants to Washington state," KUOW, March 29, 2025
https://www.kuow.org/stories/vaccine-clinics-canceled-health-jobs-cut-as-feds-rescind-grants-to-wa
11. "U.S. Cancels Contract With Moderna to Develop Bird Flu Vaccine," The New York Times, May 29, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/health/moderna-trump-bird-flu-vaccine-contract.html
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