U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last week that his department would slash about $500 million in mRNA vaccine contracts, a hit to an industry already reeling from other public funding cuts. Those impacts are being felt in Vermont, experts say.

US Health and Human Services is “winding down” its mRNA vaccine development and will instead fund other vaccine platforms through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the agency said Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Tuesday that it will start winding down mRNA vaccine development efforts under a federal health agency focused on developing medical countermeasures to address public health emergencies.