RFK Jr. Risks Millions of Lives by Gutting HIV & mRNA Research

I am writing with concern over Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s reckless decision to cancel over 230 NIH HIV research grants and shut down promising mRNA-based trials. This includes a $258 million program led by Duke and Scripps scientists. These cuts are not about safety or fiscal responsibility; they are rooted in long-standing misinformation and distrust of vaccines, which threaten public health worldwide. The mRNA technology Kennedy is so eager to discredit helped bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control, saving millions of lives globally. That same technology has now shown the first real potential in decades to produce an HIV vaccine, one capable of stimulating broadly neutralizing antibodies, the holy grail in the fight against the virus. But instead of building on this historic progress, Kennedy shut it down. These actions don’t just hurt science. They put lives at risk. Over 39 million people worldwide live with HIV, and nearly 1.3 million contract it each year (UNAIDS, 2024). Halting these efforts means more preventable infections, more deaths, and more suffering, especially in low-income, high-risk communities. America should be leading the charge toward prevention and cure, not turning its back on breakthroughs because of one man's ideology. I urge you to restore funding to these life-saving programs immediately and hold Secretary Kennedy accountable for undermining the very institutions meant to protect us. Public health and science are not political. It is personal, urgent, and global. The world is watching. Please do the right thing.