In West Texas, falsehoods about the measles vaccine, chief among them the disproven claim it causes autism, persuaded many families to forgo immunization. Then, two children died from a disease modern medicine had conquered decades earlier. It was a tragedy in miniature, but a preview of the scale of loss that can follow when politics overwhelms the doctor-patient relationship.

In 2020, the United States faced a far larger test. President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed was the most decisive act of his presidency and one of the most effective public-private mobilizations in modern times. The norm for vaccine development is about 10 years — developing a measles vaccine took roughly that long. The scientific community’s most optimistic forecast estimated 12 to 18 months for a COVID-19 shot. Trump was unwilling to accept even that compressed schedule. Using statutory authorities no president had ever wielded so forcefully, he drove the government and private industry to produce a safe, effective vaccine in under a year.

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Those vaccines, most built on the mRNA platform, were available in the U.S. in record time. They ended lockdowns, reopened classrooms and churches, and restarted the economy. That is not spin; it is the lived experience of 2021, when the nation’s trajectory improved almost overnight. We all have the president to thank for that achievement. Patients and families with cancer, Alzheimer’s, cystic fibrosis, or other infectious diseases will also have the president to thank if current promising research using mRNA technology leads to new treatments and cures.

In the meantime, COVID-19 taught adversaries, such as the Chinese Communist Party, how to weaponize pandemics. The playbook is obvious: design a virus, secretly develop a vaccine, immunize your own forces, and unleash the pathogen abroad. Within weeks, an unprepared America could be militarily and economically incapacitated. The only defense is a rapid-response vaccine platform that can pivot instantly to meet the threat. That is what mRNA offers: mRNA vaccines take less time to manufacture than other platforms. That is why it is confounding that some in the administration now want to undermine the president’s historic success. Abandoning mRNA vaccines now would be like dismantling space-based infrared missile satellites before an air attack.

Biological warfare is not theoretical. It is clear from history that disease influences war. In the Peloponnesian War, the Plague of Athens crippled the city and paved the way for Sparta’s victory. In 1918, influenza tore through armies across Europe, striking German forces especially hard and helping doom their spring offensive, contributing to the rapid collapse of their lines. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union sought to develop biological weapons from deadly diseases such as Ebola, the plague, and anthrax. Epidemics are not background events; they can dictate outcomes.

It can be deadly when politics and ideology influence public health. During the 2020 election, former Vice President Kamala Harris said she might not trust a vaccine developed under Trump. Once former President Joe Biden was elected and more Americans were dying, she encouraged immunization. We should not wait for people to die to address an issue.

Unfortunately, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has decided to stop investing in the development of mRNA vaccines. I am concerned this is based on his personal feelings toward the vaccine or his skepticism toward vaccines in general.

The secretary has contributed positively to the national public health conversation by highlighting the dangers of ultraprocessed food. Similarly, he corrected the record after years of falsely claiming that measles vaccination causes autism. After the West Texas deaths, he encouraged parents to vaccinate their children against measles, admitting that the measles vaccine is safe. He needs to correct himself now regarding mRNA vaccine technology. He must listen to the evidence, not conspiracy theories or faulty scientific reports.

CDC UNION WARNS VACCINE DISINFORMATION PUT STAFF AT RISK FOLLOWING SHOOTING

If the next pandemic — or worse, a targeted biological strike — occurs during this Trump presidency, abandoning mRNA research now risks destroying a signature Trump achievement, leaving America vulnerable and costing untold lives. 

National defense today includes not only aircraft carriers and missile shields but also defenses against biological, chemical, and radiological weapons to protect both our military and everyday Americans. The only question is whether we will abandon the Herculean effort made by Trump in his first term to develop and deploy mRNA vaccines when they are now an essential tool in our national defense. If we do abandon them, our enemies will be watching.

Dr. Bill Cassidy is a U.S. senator from Louisiana.