Tweet Facebook Mail Shares of prominent vaccine makers plunged on Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services .
An hour before the market closed on Thursday, as news reports of Trump's choice began trickling out, Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna dipped as much as 6 per cent, and Pfizer fell almost 2 per cent. Novavax, which created a protein-based Covid-19 vaccine, fell almost 6 per cent. READ MORE: Judge concerned by luxury hotel rapist's denial Original vaccination vials from Moderna, Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech) and Nuvaxovid (Novavax) on April 27, 2022.
(CNN) Kennedy has been one of the country's most prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists for years and has frequently spread falsehoods about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Last week, Kennedy said he would "immediately" begin studying vaccine safety and efficacy but promised to not "take vaccines away from anybody." Trump chooses anti-vaccine activist Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. as health secretary View Gallery Other vaccine-related companies also felt the fallout. German company BioNTech closed 7 per cent lower, and British GSK fell 2 per cent.
US vaccine companies have already been struggling, thanks to lessened demand since the peak of the pandemic. Over the past year, Pfizer stock has dipped 11 per cent, and Moderna stock has plunged 46 per cent. READ MORE: Bus driver injured after rock thrown through.