HHS pours $500 million into universal vaccines

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is investing $500 million to develop universal vaccines that protect against multiple strains of viruses, the department announced Thursday.

Named Generation Gold Standard, the initiative aims to produce vaccines that use inactivated whole viruses, similar to those developed decades ago. Among the shots being researched is a universal flu vaccine co-developed by Dr. Matthew Memoli, who notably refused the experimental COVID-19 mRNA injections and now serves as principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health. The vaccine is designed to protect against multiple strains of influenza. 

Generation Gold Standard will also research universal COVID-19 and RSV vaccines. HHS intends to begin trials for a universal coronavirus shot by 2026 and obtain FDA approval by 2029.

“Our commitment is clear: every innovation in vaccine development must be grounded in gold standard science and transparency,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who also refused the mRNA injections.

NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a third medical expert who declined the mRNA shots, touted the return to “traditional” vaccine technology.

“Generation Gold Standard is a paradigm shift,” Dr. Bhattacharya said in a statement. “It extends vaccine protection beyond strain-specific limits and prepares for flu viral threats – not just today’s, but tomorrow’s as well – using traditional vaccine technology brought into the 21st century.”

Kennedy’s HHS is seeking not only to change how vaccines are made—namely, by returning to inactivated viruses—but is also shifting away from the Biden administration’s excessive focus on the COVID-19 shots. The HHS has scrapped, for example, Project NextGen, a $5 billion Biden program to fund new coronavirus injections that the department has called “wasteful.”

Vaccination is a personal choice

The HHS is also shifting away from the Biden administration’s aggressive efforts to increase vaccination rates. In March, the HHS cut over 40 grants that were funding research into countering “vaccine hesitancy.” The move came after Kennedy emphasized that vaccination is a “personal” decision.

“Parents play a pivotal role in safeguarding their children’s health,” Kennedy wrote in an op-ed in which he recommended the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. “All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine. The decision to vaccinate is a personal one. Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons.”

In the same op-ed, Kennedy also stressed more natural prevention measures like vitamin A and nutrition as important defenses against chronic diseases.

‍