The US health secretary is cutting funding for mRNA vaccines because he claims they are less effective than other types – but that's not what the evidence shows

The move drew sharp criticism from medical and health experts. “Scrapping the fastest platform we have is a reckless move rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of vaccinology,” wrote Jake Scott, an infectious diseases specialist and clinical associate professor of medicine at Stanford University, on the social media site Bluesky.

Neither UTMB nor Moderna has confirmed the nature of the project included in the announcement, or how much funding is being lost.