The stocks of multiple prominent vaccine creators fell in the final hour of trading on Thursday, after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was officially nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
President-elect Donald Trump chose Kennedy on Thursday afternoon, claiming the vaccine skeptic would "restore" the department and its agencies to "the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!"
Novavax was hit the hardest by the announcement, with shares of the company falling more than 7% at the close of trading. Shares of Moderna and BioNTech fell 5% and 6% respectively. Pfizer's stock and the stocks of the British vaccine creator GSK both only fell 2%, according to NBC News.
The drops come despite Kennedy's promise not to eliminate vaccines last week. Kennedy said he would however provide more scientific research so people can make more informed choices. Kennedy has also rejected the label of being "anti-vaccine," stating that he just wanted more transparency health and vaccine issues.
"I’m not going to take away anybody’s vaccines," Kennedy told NBC at the time. "If vaccines are working for somebody, I’m not going to take them away. People ought to have choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information."
Related Story: Prominent Doctor Calls on Trump to Remove the COVID-19 Vaccine from the Marketplace
