Trump Administration Cancels $766M Moderna Bird Flu Vaccine Deal — Citing Safety, Shifting Priorities

The Trump administration has abruptly canceled $766 million in federal contracts awarded to Moderna for the development and purchase of its experimental bird flu vaccine, mRNA-1018 — a move that marks a sharp departure from the blank-check pandemic spending of the past five years.

The vaccine, built on the same mRNA platform as Moderna’s Covid-19 shots, was aimed at H5N1, a strain of avian flu that has spread from birds to cattle, and which as now infected at least 70 Americans, with one death officially reported.

Moderna received $176 million in July 2024, followed by another $590 million in January 2025 through BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority). The January funding was intended to support a Phase 3 trial — the final stage before approval and rollout.

The cancellation came just after Moderna announced positive interim results in a 300-person trial, claiming a “robust immune response.”

The Health and Human Services Department withdrew the funding on May 28, a move the McCullough Foundation called “a very positive development,” adding: “mRNA-based injections have repeatedly shown complete failure and cause catastrophic harm, as we’ve seen with COVID-19 and RSV.”

While no official reason has been made public, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been vocal about his skepticism of mRNA technologies and has pushed for a reevaluation of U.S. pandemic strategies.

Moderna expressed uncertainty but maintained optimism, stating that the trial results still point to “a strong safety profile.”

But the loss of nearly $800 million signals more than bureaucratic caution — it suggests the administration is no longer sold on mRNA as the default answer to every outbreak.

Global Mandates Incoming

The Moderna cancellation also comes just days after the World Health Organization officially approved the controversial WHO Pandemic Agreement — a sweeping international treaty that hands pandemic authority to an unelected global body.

While WHO leadership calls it a victory for “equity” and “science,” the treaty contains binding provisions that undermine national sovereignty and institutionalize WHO’s power during health emergencies.

Here’s what’s inside:

• Mandatory Global Compliance: Once 60 nations ratify it, the agreement becomes legally binding, forcing governments to align domestic health laws with WHO-coordinated systems — including pathogen tracking, vaccine distribution, and digital surveillance.
  
  
• Fast-Tracked Emergency Vaccines: The treaty promotes rapid approvals for pandemic countermeasures and allows WHO to demand 20% of vaccine production from manufacturers — including 10% as donations.
  
  
• No Guaranteed Compensation for Harm: There’s no binding liability or compensation system for injuries from rushed vaccines. WHO offers only “non-binding” guidance on legal risks.
  
  
• Lays Groundwork for Global Health Passports: Countries must build interoperable digital health systems and promote “pandemic literacy” — language that opens the door for vaccine passports and centralized control of medical data.
  
  

Trump’s January 2025 executive order to withdraw from the WHO — effective January 2026 — now looks prescient. It ends U.S. involvement in this global framework before it takes hold. No more funding. No more compliance. No more subordination of national health policy to Geneva bureaucrats.

The Moderna funding kill isn’t more than a shift in vaccine policy — it’s part of a broader realignment.

The U.S. is pulling back from global health governance, reasserting national control, and questioning the safety and necessity of experimental medical products.

Other countries should take note.