US health agency fires official who opposed mRNA Covid shots

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By Mariam Sunny

(Reuters) -A senior biosecurity adviser at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who has made several critical statements regarding mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, was fired over the weekend, an agency official told Reuters.

Steven Hatfill, who served as a senior adviser at the agency’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, was fired on Saturday.

The HHS official told Reuters that Hatfill, who joined this spring, was “terminated for cause,” a term typically used in cases involving performance or conduct issues.

The agency cited false claims of being the chief medical officer at ASPR and lack of effective cooperation with government agencies and department leadership as reasons for the ouster, according to Bloomberg News, which had reported the development earlier in the day.

“He (Hatfill) was senior advisor, not chief medical advisor or chief medical officer,” the HHS official said, but did not immediately clarify whether this was related to his dismissal.

Hatfill could not be immediately reached for comment.

ASPR leads the nation’s medical and public health preparedness for and response to disasters and public health emergencies.

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a research unit of ASPR that helps companies develop medical supplies to address public health threats, had said in August it would wind down mRNA vaccine development activities.

The decision included the cancellation of a contract awarded to Moderna for the late-stage development of its bird flu vaccine for humans.

Hatfill appeared on a show hosted by right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon days after the BARDA announcement and claimed mRNA vaccines caused “biochemical havoc” in cells.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)