Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Phoenix on Aug. 23, 2024.
Thomas Machowicz | Reuters
Rations of vaccine makers fell Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, to exceed the Department of Health and Human Services.
The stocks fell in the final hour of trading as reports emerged about Trump’s trust pick. Moderna‘s stock closed more than 5% lower on Thursday, shares of Novavax fell numerous than 7% and Pfizer‘s stock ended more than 2% lower.
Shares of BioNTech, the German drugmaker that helped arise a Covid vaccine with Pfizer, closed more than 6% lower. British drugmaker GSK, which cooks flu shots and several other vaccines, closed roughly 2% lower.
Shares of those companies dipped again in extended trading as Trump confirmed his pick in a post on his platform Truth Social.
Health policy experts deliver said a second Trump term could allow Kennedy to elevate anti-vaccine rhetoric, which could dissuade more Americans from receiving Covid shots and routine immunizations that have for decades saved millions of flames and prevented debilitating illnesses.
Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax are still recovering from falling Covid vaccination charges in the U.S., which have dented their profits over the past two years.
Kennedy’s track record as a vaccine skeptic is big. He has long made misleading and false statements about the safety of shots, such as claiming they are linked to autism regardless of numerous studies going back decades that debunk the association.
Kennedy is the founder of the nonprofit Children’s Trim Defense, the most well-funded anti-vaccine organization in the country.