The World Health Organization (WHO) has denounced the decision by US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr to cancel funding for mRNA vaccines. The importance of these vaccines was demonstrated during the Covid pandemic, according to the WHO. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The United States has announced the cancellation of $500 million (CHF404 million) in funding for these vaccines, mainly against respiratory viruses. “This is unfortunate and ill-timed,” Joachim Hombach, Secretary General of the WHO's Expert Group on Immunisation (SAGE), told UN-accredited correspondents in Geneva on Thursday. He added that mRNA vaccines were “a very important technology and platform”, and hoped that they would be further strengthened against emerging epidemics. For his part, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated that the American decision to withdraw from the institution next January would be a “losing proposition” for that country and for the organisation.
