Shares of vaccine companies experienced a decline on Tuesday following a Senate panel’s decision to move forward with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services to the full chamber. The committee’s vote, which took place at around 10:30 a.m. ET, resulted in a 14 to 13 decision in favor of advancing Kennedy, with the vote falling along party lines.
In response to this development, Moderna’s stock dropped by approximately 2%, while BioNTech’s shares also fell by nearly 2%. Novavax saw a decrease of more than 2% in its shares, and GSK’s stock experienced a slight decline. Despite Pfizer reporting fourth-quarter results that exceeded expectations, its stock fell by over 1%. Initially, their shares faced more significant drops after the Senate committee vote but later recovered some of the lost ground.
Kennedy, aged 71, is known for his skepticism towards vaccines, having made unfounded claims linking them to autism despite numerous studies disproving such connections. However, during his Senate confirmation hearings the previous week, Kennedy asserted that he is not against vaccines. He is the founder of the well-funded anti-vaccine organization, Children’s Health Defense, in the U.S. In an ethics agreement with the government last month, Kennedy stated that he ceased his roles as chairman and chief legal counsel for the organization as of December.
If approved by the Senate, Kennedy would be responsible for overseeing federal health agencies that regulate vaccines and other medications. Concerns have been raised by some health policy experts regarding Kennedy potentially using his new position to promote anti-vaccine views and dissuade Americans from receiving recommended vaccinations, particularly as vaccination rates, especially among children, are already declining.
At an industry conference in January, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla criticized Kennedy’s anti-vaccine stance, stating that it contradicts the beliefs of the company, regulators, and the medical and scientific community.
