Downing did not respond to a voicemail left at his law office. HHS didn’t reply to a request to make him and Kennedy available for an interview and declined to answer detailed questions about its plans for the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. In the past, an HHS spokesperson has said that Kennedy is “not anti-vaccine—he is pro-safety.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed his agency will be cutting funding to mRNA development, calling the vaccine technology "ineffective" and claiming it poses more risks than benefits.

It’s Kennedy’s latest reform in how the country regulates vaccines. He replaced the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which recommends vaccine guidance. That panel recently voted to stop recommending flu shots with thimerosal.