looking forward to midterms
But pharmaceutical officials do not seem satisfied with this pressure. “Today it may be childhood vaccines or mRNA, but tomorrow it will be everything,” said Noubar Afeyan, co-founder and chairman of Moderna, a company that makes mRNA vaccines. “We have to say not just ‘Why is this happening?’ but ‘Where will it stop?'”
As the bad flu season gets underway, Dean Lee, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said anti-vaccine rhetoric is affecting seasonal flu shots. “With the pressure on vaccinations, I cannot expect an increase in flu vaccinations in this country over the next three years,” he said in a presentation.
Sanofi Chief Executive Paul Hudson had a similarly pessimistic view. “It’s clear that this administration has a particular sensitivity to vaccinations, and indeed pediatric vaccinations,” Hudson said. He said, “I get asked all the time, ‘What are you going to do to fix this?’ And the truth is that we have to be extremely fair and continue to present evidence. “There’s really very little we can do except wait for the midterm elections.”
“We have to remain firmly focused on the long-term future of vaccines and deal with any uncertainty around vaccine coverage rates in the short term based on misinformation, Facebook posts and statements from the top,” he said.
Bourla is also concerned about the positions Kennedy is creating to attack drug manufacturers. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer with no scientific or medical background, has profited from lawsuits against vaccine makers, as have many of his aides and advisers. “There’s a lot of plaintiffs’ playbooks out there, too,” Bourla said. “Everyone will start suing.”
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