By Janet H. Cho

Shares of vaccine maker Moderna dropped more than 5% late Wednesday after reports that the Health and Human Services Department was reevaluating its $590 million contract to develop a bird flu vaccine.

Moderna is one of the pharmaceutical companies best known for developing the messenger RNA vaccine against Covid-19.

Bloomberg News reported that HHS was evaluating the contract, awarded in the final days of the Biden administration, as part of a push to examine spending on messenger RNA-based vaccines.

The U.S. is in the middle of a widening outbreak of bird flu that has spread through dairy herds and poultry flocks, infected dozens of people, and helped contribute to soaring egg prices at the grocery store.

Representatives from Health and Human Services, the White House, and Moderna weren't immediately available for comment.

Shares were down 5.8% in after-hours trading. Moderna stock is down 19% this year.

Moderna received the contract during Biden's last week in the White House, as it was ramping up its preparations for a potential H5N1 avian influenza pandemic.

The award came from the Health and Human Services' BARDA division, which last year gave Moderna $176 million to fund development of the shot, and which rarely announces contracts worth more than $150 million.

The report follows reported funding freezes on public health research at the National Institutes of Health and job cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which makes vaccine recommendations.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal critic of vaccines in general and of Covid-19 vaccines specifically, was confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary on Feb. 13.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

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February 26, 2025 18:23 ET (23:23 GMT)

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