The Trump administration has cancelled a $750 million award to Moderna to create an mRNA vaccine for bird flu in humans. A $590 million award was given to Moderna during Joe Biden’s last week in office. He previously awarded Moderna a separate $176 million award a year earlier. HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon stated, “After a rigorous review, we concluded that continued investment in Moderna’s H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable,” “This is not simply about efficacy — it’s about safety, integrity, and trust. The reality is that mRNA technology remains under-tested, and we are not going to spend taxpayer dollars repeating the mistakes of the last administration, which concealed legitimate safety concerns from the public,” added Nixon. NEW — HHS Cancels Moderna’s $700M mRNA Bird Flu Vaccine Deal pic.twitter.com/1dEOEwPnr7 — Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) May 29, 2025 Per Fox News: President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is terminating awards totaling more than $750 million dollars that were provided to pharmaceutical manufacturer Moderna to help facilitate its production of mRNA-based bird flu vaccines. During President Joe Biden’s final week in office, his administration awarded $590 million to Moderna to help speed up its production of mRNA-based vaccines. The $590 million award followed a separate $176 million award Biden gave to Moderna earlier last year for mRNA vaccine technology. Messenger RNA vaccines are a newer type of vaccine technology, which was utilized by companies like Moderna and Pfizer to develop their COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine technology was at the center of a lot of criticism amid the coronavirus pandemic for potentially being associated with adverse side effects in some people who took them, such as myocarditis. Trump administration officials previously hinted at the potential that this funding could be terminated, citing a lack of oversight during the Biden administration pertaining to vaccine production. “After a rigorous review, we concluded that continued investment in Moderna’s H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable,” HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon said. “This is not simply about efficacy — it’s about safety, integrity, and trust. The reality is that mRNA technology remains under-tested, and we are not going to spend taxpayer dollars repeating the mistakes of the last administration, which concealed legitimate safety concerns from the public.” REPORT: HHS cancels Moderna’s $590M bird flu vaccine award — Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) May 29, 2025 Here’s what Axios reported: The Trump administration canceled a nearly $600 million award to Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine for bird flu in humans, the company announced Wednesday. It ends one of the remaining Biden-era efforts aimed at creating vaccines for pandemic preparedness. But the company said it would explore alternatives for further developing and manufacturing the shot. Moderna reported positive early stage data on the mRNA vaccine, saying clinical testing in roughly 300 adults was found to be generally well-tolerated. Participants achieved 98% immunity within three weeks of the second dose of the vaccine, the company said. “While the termination of funding from HHS adds uncertainty, we are pleased by the robust immune response and safety profile observed in this interim analysis of the Phase 1/2 study of our H5 avian flu vaccine and we will explore alternative paths forward for the program,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. “These clinical data in pandemic influenza underscore the critical role mRNA technology has played as a countermeasure to emerging health threats.”