Aloha,
Last week, Governor Josh Green urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reverse its decision to cancel 22 federal investments — nearly $500 million — in mRNA vaccine development.
The move, announced by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would shut down research projects across industry and universities at a moment when we can’t afford to fall behind on epidemic preparedness.
“It’s a very big mistake,” Governor Green said of the move in an appearance on MSNBC last week. “[mRNA vaccines] did save lives in our state and across the country."
This mRNA technology is not political — it’s a lifesaving healthcare investment.
It helped our country respond at record speed to a once‑in‑a‑century pandemic, and remains one of the most adaptable platforms we have to counter fast‑moving respiratory threats.
Pulling the plug now doesn’t just pause research — it weakens the manufacturing networks, clinical trial pipelines, and scientific talent we rely on when the next outbreak strikes.
Independent scientists have warned that these cuts risk setting back vaccine readiness and even touch RNA projects adjacent to vaccines — that’s the opposite of responsible national security and public health policy.
Governor Green is a physician who has seen firsthand what happens when vaccine preparedness falters — that’s why he’s calling for an immediate reversal of the decision to cut funding, restoration of paused projects with strong safety and efficacy track records, and a bipartisan commitment to fund the tools that keep Americans safe.
Josh believes that our responsibility is simple: follow the science and the evidence, not politics, and build our healthcare capacity so we can keep our promise to every family — that when our children are threatened by preventable infectious diseases, we are ready to protect them.
If you support Josh’s efforts to protect America’s children from infectious diseases and strengthen our healthcare system, please follow us on
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Mahalo,
Team Green
