(Reuters) – On Tuesday, the shares of vaccine manufacturers and packaged food companies experienced a decline following the advancement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. health secretary, one step closer to the position after receiving a positive vote from a Senate panel. The affirmative vote by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee sets the stage for the full Senate to potentially confirm him as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services within the week.
Kennedy, whose nomination has been met with opposition from health organizations and Democrats, has a history of raising doubts about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, which have played a crucial role in combatting diseases and saving lives over the years. Despite the anti-vaccine label, Kennedy has emphasized that he does not intend to restrict Americans from receiving vaccinations.
During his previous independent presidential campaign, Kennedy expressed his vision of “Making America Healthy Again,” where he highlighted the adverse effects of additives, chemicals, and sugar present in processed foods and soft drinks as major contributors to the prevalence of chronic illnesses in the United States.
Following these developments, Pfizer witnessed a 1.8% decrease in its stock value, accompanied by a similar drop in the U.S. shares of its COVID-19 vaccine collaborator, BioNTech, which experienced a 2% decline. Other vaccine manufacturers like Moderna saw a 1.8% decrease, while Novavax recorded a slip of 2.3%. Concurrently, shares of packaged food giants including Hershey, Mondelez, Kraft Heinz, and General Mills all suffered a 2% downturn.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
