RFK Jr. Cites Three False COVID Vaccine Claims to Justify Canceling mRNA Vaccine Funding

Aug 08, 2025

 

"Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advanced three false claims about COVID-19 vaccines to explain his cancellation of $500 million in government-funded mRNA vaccine projects, NewsGuard found."

 

(more)

 

https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/rfk-jr-cites-three-false-covid-vaccine

 

Summarizing their report in my own words, non-partisan fact checking agency Newsguard reported that Kennedy claimed the COVID mRNA vaccines were responsible for causing mutations to the COVID virus, leading to different versions that could more easily infect people. 

 

The Newsguard report replied:

 

"Actually: Vaccine experts say there is no evidence that COVID vaccines caused the COVID virus to mutate more quickly," and went on to cite an expert's commentary on that issue.

 

Newsguard also reported that Kennedy claimed mRNA vaccines aren't effective against viruses that infect the upper respiratory tract, and that mRNA technology poses more risks than benefits.

 

Newguard's report responded:

 

"Actually: Both claims are false," and went on to cite commentary from experts and recent studies that counter Kennedy's claims.

 

 

Source:

NewsGuard: Global Leader in Information Reliability

Reality Check is a newsletter from NewsGuard that dives beneath your news feed to explore how false claims spread online and uncover the forces that shape online narratives. 

 

NewsGuard combines human expertise and technology to provide data, analysis and journalism that helps enterprises and consumers identify reliable information online.... We are a strictly nonpartisan organization with investors and leadership from across the political spectrum.

 

And comparable reporting on RFK Jr.'s misinformation (false) claims from FactCheck.org:

 

RFK Jr. Justifies Cuts to mRNA Vaccine Projects With Falsehoods

Posted on August 7, 2025

 

"In justifying the government’s termination of $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine projects, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed mRNA vaccines “fail to protect effectively” against COVID-19 and suggested they are unsafe. The mRNA shots saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and have shown promise against influenza.

...

Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told us the HHS announcement is “an exercise in disinformation.”"

 

(more)

 

https://www.factcheck.org/2025/08/rfk-jr-justifies-cuts-to-mrna-vaccine-projects-with-falsehoods/

 

 

And likewise by the Associated Press:

 

FACT FOCUS: RFK Jr.'s reasons for cutting mRNA vaccine not supported by evidence

August 7, 2025

 

"Although mRNA vaccines saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. incorrectly argued they are ineffective to justify the Department of Health and Human Service’s recent decision to cancel $500 million in government-funded research projects to develop new vaccines using the technology.

...

Kennedy’s claim ignores how mRNA vaccines work, according to experts. They prevent against severe infection and death, but cannot completely prevent an infection from occurring in the first place. Plus, years of research supports the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines that use mRNA technology.

 

(more)

 

https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-rfk-mrna-vaccines-effective-76633aadedfad3bec9a77e524c7ce6f7

 

True, true & true, IMHO

6 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

True, true & true, IMHO

Denying science won't change the facts. Falsehoods remain falsehoods.

Just now, stevenl said:

Denying science won't change the facts. Falsehoods remain falsehoods.

I agree 

 

Who's science (or fact checker) seems to be the problem ... IMHO 

China will be taking the lead in mRNA research, as it has in nuclear fusion.

 

America was first in modern electric vehicles, back in 1996 with the GM EV1. Guess who is the world's manufacturing hub for EV's?

 

RFK will be as successful as Canute, the march of science cannot be denied.

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

China will be taking the lead in mRNA research, as it has in nuclear fusion.

 

America was first in modern electric vehicles, back in 1996 with the GM EV1. Guess who is the world's manufacturing hub for EV's?

 

RFK will be as successful as Canute, the march of science cannot be denied.

Unfortunately the Canute’s of this world are making a damn good fist of it though

5 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I agree 

 

Who's science (or fact checker) seems to be the problem ... IMHO 

Your opinion without facts has no value. That's one of the problems, people with absolutely no knowledge still feel the need to give their opinions.

4 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Your opinion without facts has no value. That's one of the problems, people with absolutely no knowledge still feel the need to give their opinions.

I don't know anyone that died from covid.   I do know people that died and are still affected by the vaccine.  Those are facts, and I don't need a fact checker to tell me I'm wrong.

14 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I don't know anyone that died from covid.   I do know people that died and are still affected by the vaccine.  Those are facts, and I don't need a fact checker to tell me I'm wrong.

With more than 7 million people dead from Covid this really says more about your lifestyle as a hermit locked in an antivax echo chamber.

@WorriedNoodle

You might of missed the memo ... but CDC had to change their listing of covid deaths in the early days.  After admitting 94% of the deaths, died with covid, and possible not from covid, since they were never actually tested for covid.

 

Source has been posted numerous times, so I'm not going to bother searching, feel free.   I'll say it's just my opinion, and I'm not stating facts, so it won't get deleted.

 

Y'all can believe what you want, I'll believe with what I know.  

8 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I'll believe with what I know.  

Which is clearly very little.

 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., terminated $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine projects, falsely claiming the vaccines are ineffective and unsafe. His decision and claims are contradicted by scientific evidence and experts.

 

The Key Claims by RFK Jr. and Counterarguments

   

Claim on Effectiveness: Kennedy stated that mRNA vaccines "fail to protect effectively" against upper respiratory infections like COVID-19 and flu.

Counterpoint: Experts, including Dr. Michael Osterholm and Dr. Peter Hotez, call this "simply not true." Studies have repeatedly shown the vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death, even as the virus mutates. The goal of a vaccine is to prevent severe disease, not necessarily all infection.

 

Claim on Safety: Kennedy suggested that mRNA technology "poses more risk than benefits."

Counterpoint: The mRNA vaccines are the most tested vaccines in history, with serious side effects being very rare. Myocarditis, while a known rare side effect, is also seen with other vaccine types and is more likely to occur after a COVID-19 infection than after vaccination. Experts have consistently concluded that the benefits of the vaccines outweigh the risks.

 

Claim on Variants: Kennedy claimed a single mutation could render the vaccine ineffective and that the vaccines paradoxically encourage new mutations. 

Counterpoint: Experts confirmed this is "flat out wrong." Multiple mutations are required to decrease effectiveness, and even then, protection against severe disease remains. The virus mutates on its own and does not need the vaccine's help to do so.

29 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

@WorriedNoodle

You might of missed the memo ... but CDC had to change their listing of covid deaths in the early days.  After admitting 94% of the deaths, died with covid, and possible not from covid, since they were never actually tested for covid.

 

Source has been posted numerous times, so I'm not going to bother searching, feel free.   I'll say it's just my opinion, and I'm not stating facts, so it won't get deleted.

 

Y'all can believe what you want, I'll believe with what I know.  

Misinformation. 

40 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Misinformation. 

Just my opinion, as I stated, but if you search, you'll find the info that my opinion is based on.

 

 

https://www.aamc.org/news/how-are-covid-19-deaths-counted-it-s-complicated

17 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Just my opinion, as I stated, but if you search, you'll find the info that my opinion is based on.

 

 

https://www.aamc.org/news/how-are-covid-19-deaths-counted-it-s-complicated

As i said, misinformation. Unless you can explain how they knew they were COVID positive, since you claimed "since they were never actually tested for covid.".

Just stumbled on this from Neil Degrasse Tyson.

 

"How sad it must be believing that scientists, historians, economists, scholars, journalists have devoted their entire lives to deceiving you, while a reality TV star with decades of fraud and exhaustively documented lying is your only beacon of truth and honesty."

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

China will be taking the lead in mRNA research, as it has in nuclear fusion.

 

America was first in modern electric vehicles, back in 1996 with the GM EV1. Guess who is the world's manufacturing hub for EV's?

 

RFK will be as successful as Canute, the march of science cannot be denied.

 

Why would China take the lead? Yes, China is a big player. However, Germany, Italy and Canada are three of the world's leaders in mRNA innovation. The use of mRNA delivery mechanisms is a big cancer treatment focus in Canada. Germany leads with technological development and the Italians are a powerhouse of new discoveries. If the US scientists become concerned that they could lose their research efforts, they will move to other countries. Canada has an edge because of the integration of US and Canadian research projects and a common language. Yes, research will falter in the USA, but it will continue at many US universities. Watch fora brain drain from the USA.

2 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

 

Why would China take the lead? Yes, China is a big player. However, Germany, Italy and Canada are three of the world's leaders in mRNA innovation. The use of mRNA delivery mechanisms is a big cancer treatment focus in Canada. Germany leads with technological development and the Italians are a powerhouse of new discoveries. If the US scientists become concerned that they could lose their research efforts, they will move to other countries. Canada has an edge because of the integration of US and Canadian research projects and a common language. Yes, research will falter in the USA, but it will continue at many US universities. Watch fora brain drain from the USA.

The answer is simple - funding. Research is expensive, and China is second only to the USA in GDP.

 

I don't decry scientific contributions by Germany, France, italy, Canada etc. As Bonaparte said, god is on the side of the big battalions.

 

The same holds true in the medical research field.

 

 

Off topic deflection and reply removed

14 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Vaccine experts say there is no evidence that COVID vaccines caused the COVID virus to mutate more quickly,"

Blah blah blah blah blah.

I love armchair ideologue who probably don't have more than a high school education and about zero in the way of understanding of life sciences not less any knowledge at all of published research as that level of publication is a major challenge to their 6th or 7th grade reading levels.  Nope.  just defer to, "an expert told me."  You people are denser then a box of lead.

41 minutes ago, connda said:

Blah blah blah blah blah.

I love armchair ideologue who probably don't have more than a high school education and about zero in the way of understanding of life sciences not less any knowledge at all of published research as that level of publication is a major challenge to their 6th or 7th grade reading levels.  Nope.  just defer to, "an expert told me."  You people are denser then a box of lead.

 

The forum has rules limiting how much of original news reports can be quoted in threads...

 

But if you had bothered to read the linked news report cited at the top of this thread, you would have seen the following:

 

"Actually: Vaccine experts say there is no evidence that COVID vaccines caused the COVID virus to mutate more quickly.
 

• University of Surrey immunology professor Deborah Dunn-Walters told the U.K. Science Media Centre on Aug. 6, “Mutation is a natural process that occurs with these viruses, and the use of any vaccine does not impact it.”

 

https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/rfk-jr-cites-three-false-covid-vaccine

 

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

As i said, misinformation. Unless you can explain how they knew they were COVID positive, since you claimed "since they were never actually tested for covid.".

 

The actual correct statistics and counts re U.S. COVID deaths and the proportion directly related to COVID -- not years-old recycled misinformation posted by another poster here...

 

Per the CDC as shown below, 87% of the total U.S. COVID deaths during the pandemic had death certificates listing COVID as the underlying (meaning primary) cause of death, with the remainder listing COVID as a contributing cause.

 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm

 

 

And, as for the years-old misinformation claims from back in 2020 at the very start of the pandemic when there was some uncertainty about how to count and classify COVID deaths:

 

Fact check: 94% of individuals with additional causes of death still had COVID-19

By Reuters

September 4, 20203:11 AM GMT+7Updated September 3, 2020

 

"Shared thousands of times on Facebook, posts claim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “quietly updated” its COVID-19 data “to admit that only 6% of all the 153,504 (U.S.) deaths recorded actually died from (COVID-19).” According to the posts, the CDC stated that the other 94% of people died from other causes, and that only 9,210 people have died from COVID-19. This claim is false.  [emphasis added]

...

VERDICT [on the original social media claim above]

False. The 6% figure represents death certificates with COVID-19 listed as the only cause of death, but the remaining death certificates listed additional conditions, either COVID-19 complications or pre-existing illnesses, along with COVID-19.  

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-94-percent-covid-among-caus/fact-check-94-of-individuals-with-additional-causes-of-death-still-had-covid-19-idUSKBN25U2IO/

 

 

On 8/10/2025 at 2:35 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

University of Surrey immunology professor Deborah Dunn-Walters told the U.K. Science Media Centre on Aug. 6, “Mutation is a natural process that occurs with these viruses, and the use of any vaccine does not impact it.”

Simply nonsense. Say anything to keep the gravy train moving along.

On 8/10/2025 at 10:52 AM, KhunLA said:

Just my opinion, as I stated, but if you search, you'll find the info that my opinion is based on.

 

 

https://www.aamc.org/news/how-are-covid-19-deaths-counted-it-s-complicated

 

 

You missed this bit..........just add some context

 

At the core of the issue is the fact that COVID-19 kills in myriad ways, typically setting off a combination of potentially fatal afflictions. 

“COVID-19 can cause an extraordinarily wide range of clinical complications,” Auld says. “While pneumonia and respiratory failure are the most common manifestations, it can also cause blood clots, including strokes and heart attacks.”

When a COVID-19 patient dies, “it’s usually a cascade of events that lead to death — it’s not one thing,” agrees Daniel Handel, MD, MBA, MPH, chief medical officer for Indiana University Health’s South Central Region in Bloomington.