Vaccine makers close lower amid reports RFK Jr may head HHS

Shares of vaccine makers closed lower Thursday amid reports that President-elect Donald Trump was set to nominate vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the agencies that approve and provide guidelines for vaccines in the United States.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX), Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) and Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) were the biggest decliners, closing 7% lower following a somewhat bearish session for the broader market.

Also losing significant ground were Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), GSK (NYSE:GSK), Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), with AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) and Merck (NYSE:MRK) finishing the session fractionally lower.

After market close on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal confirmed that Trump intends to nominate Kennedy to head HHS, citing a social media post by Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr.

Kennedy, who sought the presidency before dropping out to support Trump, has been a long-time critic of vaccines, asserting that some pose safety risks. He has also been a vocal critic of the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both of which fall under the auspices of HHS.

Other agencies overseen by HHS include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the National Institutes of Health.