1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,400 Speaker 1: Before we jump into today's podcast, We've got a really 2 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:05,840 Speaker 1: quick ask of you to ensure this podcast remains really 3 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: relevant and useful to everyone listening. We'd love to learn 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: more about you. We've put a short survey in today's 5 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: show notes and would be so grateful if you could 6 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 1: fill it out. It'll only take a couple of minutes. 7 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: Thanks in advance for helping TDA. Now let's get into 8 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: it already, and this is this is the Daily this 9 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:24,640 Speaker 1: is the Daily ODS. 10 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 2: Oh now it makes sense. 11 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: Good morning, and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Friday, 12 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: the eighth of August. 13 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 2: I'm Sam Kazlowski, I'm Billy Fitzsimon's. 14 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: This week, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior announced 15 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: he's canceling twenty two vaccine development projects worth five hundred 16 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 1: million US dollars, specifically targeting mRNA technology used in COVID 17 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: nineteen vaccines. The decision has sparked concern from infectious disease experts, 18 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: who say could leave a man Erica vulnerable to future pandemics. 19 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: On today's podcast, we're going to dive into what these 20 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: cuts actually mean, why we're seeing such dramatic changes in 21 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,919 Speaker 1: US health policy and where the similar changes could actually 22 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 1: come to Australia. 23 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,119 Speaker 2: So, Sam, this story all centers around RFK Junior, who 24 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 2: is now in charge of America's health policy. For anyone 25 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 2: who's not familiar with him, do you want to just 26 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,919 Speaker 2: give us a quick overview about who is RFK Jr. 27 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:32,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, So this is the main character of this story, 28 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: I'd say so. Robert F. Kennedy Junior is Donald Trump's 29 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: Secretary of Health and Human Services. 30 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 2: He's kind of like our Minister for health exactly. 31 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: So it's the Mark Butler of America. He's from the 32 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: famous Kennedy political dynasty. He's the nephew of former President 33 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: John F. Kennedy. Now, before entering politics, RFK was an 34 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: environmental lawyer, but over the past twenty years he's become 35 00:01:55,160 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: a really prominent vaccine skeptic. He's repeatedly questioned vaccine, particularly 36 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: during the COVID pandemic, and he linked vaccines to autism 37 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: despite overwhelming scientific evidence showing no connection there. He founded 38 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,799 Speaker 1: an organization called the Children's Health Defense that spreads what 39 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: experts say is vaccine misinformation. And what's really significant now is, 40 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: as you said, he is in charge of America's health system, 41 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: so he oversees multiple health agencies. The ones that we 42 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: would know and be familiar with would be the CDC, 43 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: the Center for Disease Control, and the FDA, which regulate 44 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: and recommend vaccines and medications. 45 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 2: I remember the CDC, the Center of Disease Control, was 46 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 2: very prominent during the pandemic, so I think maybe a 47 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:41,359 Speaker 2: lot of us would know it from. 48 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: There Doctor Anthony Fauci, he was the figurehead. 49 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 2: Yes, so this was a pretty dramatic move from RFK 50 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,080 Speaker 2: Junior to cut funding for a lot of vaccines in 51 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 2: the US. Do you want to just break down exactly 52 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 2: what that announcement was this week? 53 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: Sure? So it was on Tuesday US time and RFK 54 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: got up and announced that the Department of Health and 55 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 1: Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for twenty 56 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,079 Speaker 1: two projects. And when you bundle all of those projects together, 57 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: the total amount of funding being pulled is five hundred 58 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: million US dollars, which is about seven hundred and seventy 59 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: million Australian dollars. 60 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 2: And is this funding into the rollout of vaccines or 61 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 2: funding into the research of future vaccines. 62 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: It's more in that second bucket, So it's more about 63 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: the development of vaccines, particularly the ones that use mRNA 64 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: technology to fight respiratory viruses. 65 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 2: Remind me what that is. 66 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: So mRNA technology I'll get to in a sect. But 67 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: the respiratory viruses that we would know about from a 68 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: vaccine context would be COVID nineteen, the flu and bird flu. Familiar, yes, 69 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: And so the contracts being canceled, they involve some of 70 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: America's biggest pharmaceutical companies. We're talking about Pizer and Maderna, 71 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: and those are the companies that we know develops the 72 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen mRNA vaccines. And so Kennedy comes out with 73 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: this video exp blaming his decision, and he says, to 74 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: replace the troubled mRNA programs, we're prioritizing the development of safer, 75 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,839 Speaker 1: broader vaccine strategies like whole virus vaccines and novel platforms 76 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: that don't collapse when viruses mutate. 77 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 2: And to translate that into US non scientific yes, folk. 78 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: So basically what he's saying there is they're putting energy 79 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: and money into developing a universal vaccine. So what's one 80 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 1: vaccine that can adapt on the fly within the human 81 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: body and fight any virus? That comes along the weakness 82 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:37,279 Speaker 1: with the mRNA vaccine. In Kennedy's view is that with 83 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,280 Speaker 1: every iteration of a virus like COVID, you need a 84 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: new modification to the vaccine. And so he's looking for 85 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: this idea of a universal vaccine, a one stop shot. 86 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:51,440 Speaker 1: Do you like that, I get it, instead of a 87 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: vaccine that when a virus mutates, isn't useful anymore. 88 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 2: Okay, that makes sense. And to go back to my 89 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:01,040 Speaker 2: earlier question, what exactly is MRNS technology? 90 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: So basically, it's a type of technology where scientists create 91 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: a snippet of genetic code that carries instructions for how 92 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:12,839 Speaker 1: the body can make a protein that can fight a virus. 93 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 1: So they pick a protein to target from a virus, 94 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: they inject the instruction manual into the code of the vaccine, 95 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: and your body then makes enough of that protein to 96 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: trigger a protection from the virus. So it basically helps 97 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: your body produce its own vaccine dose. Now, the big 98 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:32,840 Speaker 1: advantage to mRNA technology is the speed at which it 99 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: can be developed, and that's something we talked a lot 100 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,919 Speaker 1: about during the pandemic because mRNA vaccines were developed in 101 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: record time and in the early stages of the pandemic. 102 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: When we were talking about traditional vaccines, we were talking 103 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: about years of development time needed. mRNA vaccines can potentially 104 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: be created in months now. Infectious disease experts say that 105 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,720 Speaker 1: the technology could be crucial for responding to future pandemics, 106 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: especially in current concerns around bird flow in the US 107 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: where it's potentially spreading to humans. Don't tell us that, 108 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:05,280 Speaker 1: I'm sorry. 109 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 2: That you can't tell us there's another pandemic on the way. 110 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 1: Well, I mean this has been a really interesting legacy 111 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: from the pandemic is looking at pandemic preparedness, and there's 112 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: a really interesting perspective for countries now of how ready 113 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: is a country if another pandemic was to arrive on 114 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 1: our doorstep. 115 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 2: So what I'm hearing about mRNA technology is that the 116 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 2: value of it, its prime value is how speedy it 117 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 2: can be in responding to any new viruses that emerge. 118 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:36,040 Speaker 2: But now RFK Junior has pulled funding from it. Now, 119 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 2: neither you or I are vaccine experts. So what have 120 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 2: the experts said about this? 121 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: It's such an in depth area of science. Let's talk 122 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:47,720 Speaker 1: about what the people who actually not going to talk 123 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: about are saying. So I mean, the basic concern is 124 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,160 Speaker 1: that America could be caught unprepared for the next pandemic, 125 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 1: and experts argue that the rapid development capability of the 126 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,280 Speaker 1: mRNA vaccines could be the difference between containing a new 127 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: virus quickly or facing another health crisis. So Jerome Adams, 128 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: who was the surgeon General for the bulk of Donald 129 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: Trump's first term, he wrote on X this week that 130 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: while he has tried to be objective and non alarmist 131 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: about recent decisions made by RFK jor, quite frankly, this 132 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: move is going to cost lives. And that's somebody who 133 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: was appointed by a Trump administration, which I thought was 134 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 1: really interesting. There's a leading academic expert on infectious diseases, 135 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: Mike Osterholm, and he said, I don't think I've seen 136 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: a more dangerous decision in public health in my fifty 137 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:35,679 Speaker 1: years in the business. Wow. 138 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 2: And obviously, Donald Trump, the US President, is the person 139 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 2: who appointed RFK Junior, so I imagine that he's in 140 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 2: support of this. 141 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: He is, so he gave Kennedy really significant freedoms to 142 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: reshape American health policy. He's previously said he wants RFK 143 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: to quote go wild on health and food policy. It's 144 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: interesting with Trump because during his first presidency, Trump actually 145 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 1: horted the development of mRNA technology. It was called Operation 146 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: Warp Speed, and it was this big investment in funding 147 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: to develop COVID vaccines really quickly. At the time, Trump 148 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: called mRNA vaccines a medical miracle. Now, in recent years, 149 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 1: especially after the pandemic, he has expressed increasing skepticism about vaccines, 150 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: and we can, I guess, look to the fact that 151 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: he has appointed RFK Junior in this position as an 152 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: indication of where he stands on the issue. There's one 153 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 1: really interesting comment I wanted to tell you about. So 154 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 1: in the press conference this week with RFK Junior, when 155 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: asked whether Trump is satisfied with his performance in the 156 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: role in the first six months, RFK Junior said Trump 157 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: calls him multiple times a week, always with the same question, 158 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:45,959 Speaker 1: why aren't people healthier? 159 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 2: Yet? 160 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:49,079 Speaker 1: That was kind of cool. I mean, that's that very 161 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:52,079 Speaker 1: blunt question, one way to describe it. Very interesting. I 162 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: would yeah, yeah, I can only imagine the conversation those 163 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: two are having. 164 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, And I want to go back to something you 165 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 2: said earlier, because what you're sa said is that RFK 166 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 2: Junior is not saying that we should cut vaccines all together. 167 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,959 Speaker 2: From what you said, you're saying that he thinks that 168 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:12,679 Speaker 2: there should be a universal vaccine. What does that look 169 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 2: like and is that possible? 170 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: Well, it's largely theoretical at this stage. That's according to 171 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: scientists and experts in the field. Scientists have been trying 172 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: to develop an idea of a universal vaccine, even just 173 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,199 Speaker 1: a universal flu vaccine, for decades and they haven't been 174 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: able to be successful in that. Essentially, a universal vaccine 175 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:36,439 Speaker 1: would mimic natural immunity and it would then be effective 176 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: against both coronavirus and flu, but also any other virus 177 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: that we might not even know about yet, and it 178 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 1: essentially would stimulate the body's natural immunity function. As I said, 179 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: it's a promising idea, but scientists have no timeline on 180 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 1: how this can be developed and if and when it 181 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: could be available in the wider market. 182 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 2: And if we were to bring this back to an 183 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 2: Australian context, is there any signal from the Australian government 184 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 2: that they will move in a similar direction at all 185 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 2: in line with the US. 186 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 1: No signal at all, really, I mean, there hasn't been 187 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: a direct response to rfk's policy changes this week. But 188 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: we can look to the investment in vaccine research and 189 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 1: roll out as a pretty safe it's bipartisan as it's 190 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,080 Speaker 1: supported by everyone, it's part of our health framework, So 191 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 1: I can pretty safely say that the government would not 192 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: be looking to follow this path in Australia. 193 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 2: It's bipartisan, I meaning it's supported by basically both sides 194 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 2: of Parliament or all sides of Parliament. 195 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:38,080 Speaker 1: Yes, But what I did think was interesting is that 196 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:40,040 Speaker 1: there has been a number of stories that have come 197 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: into the news over the last couple of months about 198 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: the changing attitudes of Australians towards the flu vaccine. For example, 199 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,200 Speaker 1: there's been a steady decline in the percentage of adults 200 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: in Australia who are getting the flu vaccine, and hospital 201 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: admissions from flu have spiked this year by up to 202 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:58,439 Speaker 1: fifty percent in some states. And at twenty twenty four 203 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:02,160 Speaker 1: survey published in the Media Journal of Australia found that 204 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 1: about one in five said they would not get a 205 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,400 Speaker 1: government offered vaccine in a future public health emergency, while 206 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: another seventeen percent said they were uncertain whether they would 207 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 1: or wouldn't. So we can kind of say that about 208 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 1: forty percent of Australians are either hesitant or outright against 209 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: a government offered vaccine. 210 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 2: It would be interesting to know what those stats were 211 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 2: prior to the pandemic and to kind of look at 212 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:28,720 Speaker 2: how it's changed since. But I think from everything that 213 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 2: you've said, it's clear that they kind of are seemingly 214 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 2: changing attitudes about. 215 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: Vaccinations definitely, and there's a clear delineation from pre pandemic 216 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: attitudes to post pandemic attitudes, particularly in children. And that 217 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: was something that our Health Minister Mark Butler touched on 218 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: in June when he got up and released a new 219 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: national immunization strategy. 220 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 2: Do you mean children getting vaccinations or the attitudes of children? 221 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 1: No, so I don't the type of age of children 222 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: we're talking about here probably don't have vaccine attitudes just 223 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: yet at six months to three, right, But the attitude 224 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 1: of their parents to be getting children vaccinated has changed 225 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: and it's kind of going down about one or two 226 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,080 Speaker 1: percent a year. So Mark Butler got up in June 227 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: and released this new national strategy, and part of that 228 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: strategy was a direct opposition to another move that RFK did. 229 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,560 Speaker 1: RFK had announced a couple of weeks before that that 230 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: America would withdraw its funding for GAVY, which is the 231 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:31,000 Speaker 1: Global Vaccine Alliance in Mark Butler's strategy. He announced a 232 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: three hundred and eighty six million boost in funding to 233 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 1: that body between twenty twenty six and twenty thirty. One 234 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 1: interesting angle that we can talk about in terms of 235 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,440 Speaker 1: the effect of rfk's decision this week is actually the 236 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 1: opportunities it presents in terms of Australia's capabilities to make 237 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: and even one day export mRNA vaccines. So CSL and 238 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 1: Maderna they're the two biggest producers of mRNA vaccines in Australia. 239 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 1: They've got large vaccination facilities now in the country. Experts 240 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: say that Australia wouldn't be quite prepared today if there 241 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: was another pandemic to roll out rapidly and universally a 242 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:11,959 Speaker 1: vaccine program. So we're not quite at the stage where 243 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: we would look at exporting it to other countries. But 244 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:18,720 Speaker 1: if you think about how much America produces in this space, 245 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,200 Speaker 1: if that was all cut, there would be some openings 246 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: in the global export landscape, which is a quirky way 247 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:26,000 Speaker 1: to look at it, but an interesting to take. 248 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 2: So interesting such a topical story at the moment, Sam, 249 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:31,840 Speaker 2: thank you for explaining it to us. Thanks Billy, and 250 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,200 Speaker 2: thank you so much for listening to this episode of 251 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:36,680 Speaker 2: The Daily os. We'll be back this afternoon with your 252 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 2: evening headlines, but until then, have a great day. My 253 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 2: name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda Bungelung 254 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 2: Caalcuttin woman from Gadigol Country. The Daily oz acknowledges that 255 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 2: this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl 256 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:56,680 Speaker 2: people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait 257 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 2: Island and nations. We pay our respects to the first 258 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:02,160 Speaker 2: people of these countries, both past and present.