Moderna, Inc.'s stock suffered a 5.08% plummet on Friday, following news that President-elect Donald Trump had selected vocal vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy, an environmental activist, has been a harsh critic of public-health leaders' approaches to the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccines. He has claimed that unhealthy food, medicines, and water have fueled the rise of chronic diseases in America and accused government regulators of being corrupted by corporate influence.
The appointment sparked concerns among investors, as Kennedy has vowed to overhaul the healthcare industry, particularly the vaccine sector. Shares of other vaccine makers, including Pfizer, BioNTech, and Novavax, also tumbled premarket, indicating widespread apprehension about Kennedy's potential impact on the industry's future.