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Investing.com - Healthcare and vaccine stocks are likely to be in the spotlight on Wednesday as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, is due to appear before Senate committee hearings this week, according to Bloomberg News.
As head of the top U.S. health agency, Kennedy would oversee drug regulations, health insurance for over 140 million people, and Medicare and Medicaid programs for older and disabled Americans. Public health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would also be within his remit.
Just under 23% of the federal budget -- or about $3.09 trillion -- were designated to HHS in the 2024 fiscal year.
Trump has said the HHS will "play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives", arguing that they have contributed to a health crisis in the U.S. Kennedy, he added, would do "unbelievable" things as head of the department.
Kennedy, for his part, has vowed to put an end to chronic disease and provide Americans with more data to make health decisions.
However, some public safety advocates have voiced worries that Kennedy could adopt an anti-vaccine position as head of HHS. Kennedy has questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccines, but has refuted claims that he is against the jabs, saying he would like to see more rigorous testing instead.
Following Trump’s appointment of Kennedy in November, shares in vaccine makers like Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) fell. Ahead of the start of U.S. trading on Wednesday, the two stocks were trading lower, along with peer BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX).
Meanwhile, analysts were watching companies involved around psychedelic-related treatments, such as ATAI Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ATAI), Cybin (NYSE:CYBN), and GH Research (NASDAQ:GHRS), Bloomberg News said. Kennedy has hit out at federal drug regulators for not approving these type of drugs.
(Reuters contributed reporting.)