Action 130 H5N1 vaccine
Background: That strange man RFK Jr (who Susan Collins voted to confirm) has just terminated a contract for Moderna to develop a vaccine against the H5N1(bird flu) virus using mRNA technology. (1) If allowed to stand, this action will leave us vulnerable to a disease that has the potential to be a pandemic rivaling Covid. “HHS claims it’s about “safety” and “ethics,” but don’t be fooled. This is pure RFK Jr. ideology in action. He’s long opposed mRNA vaccines, despite overwhelming safety data and now he’s letting his personal crusade override public health strategy. In fact, Moderna had already reported promising trial results. But instead of following the science, HHS caved to conspiracy theories and junk data.” (2)
It's hard to fathom what the anti-science nutcases have against mRNA. (3) But the immediate task is to stop this crazy war on science and get the flu vaccine developed. “It’s not too late to change course. RFK Jr. previously reversed his opposition to the measles vaccine after public outrage. Now we need that same pressure again.”
Action: Send a message directly to RFK Jr. demanding HHS reinstate the Moderna contract immediately and restore full funding for a bird flu vaccine to protect public health and maintain critical pandemic preparedness now. He doesn’t want to go down in the history books as a demented man responsible for mass death. Copy your letter to RFK as a letter to the editor, and also send it to our congressional delegation.
Contact:
Mail:
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: Toll Free Call Center: 1-877-696-6775
Social Media:
x @SecKennedy
Urgency: Today if possible. Use as many of these contact links as you reasonably can.
Extra Credit:
(1) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/moderna-bird-flu-vaccine-research-funding-trump-administration-yanks/
(2)https://actionnetwork.org/letters/restore-bird-flu-vaccine
(3) mRNA stands for Messenger Ribonucleic Acid. It’s a long, single stranded molecule that picks up genetic code from your DNA and ferries the information out of the cell nucleus over to the miniscule structures called ribosomes, where proteins are made from amino acids. In other words, mRNA is part of your biology and is essential to the functioning of every cell in your body. All the mRNA vaccine technology does is equip some of the mRNA with instructions to make proteins that are antibodies to the flu virus. This avoids you having to get sick with a live virus, or vaccinated with a disabled version of the virus, in order to trigger the antibody production. Here’s a short tutorial for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4sUuFBEo2g (Feedback regulation of macromolecules like mRNA was my graduate field of study.)