The world's largest vaccine makers are taking it on the chin after Donald Trump announced that he was nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary.
Investors have sold off billions of dollars worth of stock since the vaccine skeptic was tapped for the role.
Sock prices for Pfizer fell 2.6%, BioNTech fell 7.1% and Moderna was down 5.6% on Thursday, according to the Wall Street Journal. The declines continued in premarket hours on Friday.
Kennedy has adapted Trump's MAGA slogan to Make America Healthy Again to highlight his plans for the health agencies.
Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services by President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump announced on Thursday that he offered the job to Kennedy.
"For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health," the President-elect said.
"The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country."
Trump last month told supporters he would let Kennedy "go wild on health" and food policy under his administration.
Last week, Kennedy stated that he believed entire departments of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), such as the nutrition department, were obsolete and should be dissolved.
He has often repeated debunked claims that vaccines cause autism and told Fox News "There's no vaccine that is safe and effective" during an interview last year.
Kennedy has also called for fluoride to be removed from the U.S. water supply.
