HHS Fires Senior Biosecurity Adviser Over mRNA COVID Vaccine Criticism

Steven J. Hatfill, a virologist who had served about six months as a senior biosecurity adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, was fired over the weekend, multiple outlets reported. HHS officials told The New York Times he was dismissed for misrepresenting himself as the assistant secretary’s “chief medical officer” and for not coordinating policy with leadership, while Bloomberg, Reuters and Seeking Alpha said his public advocacy that mRNA Covid vaccines should be taken off the market contributed to the ouster. Hatfill, who backed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to cancel funding for mRNA vaccine research and previously promoted unproven Covid treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, denied the department’s account and called his removal part of “a coup to overthrow Mr. Kennedy.” The agency oversees U.S. preparedness for biological threats and emergency medical stockpiles, and officials indicated the secretary wanted to “go in a different direction.”