Big Pharma companies halt COVID shot trial after failing to recruit enough participants

(LifeSiteNews) — Vaccine producers Pfizer and BioNTech abandoned a trial for their updated COVID-19 vaccine after the Big Pharma giants were unable to attract enough U.S. trial participants.

The move comes as the public’s trust in vaccines has hit an all-time low while demand for COVID-19 vaccines has cratered.  

Pfizer and BioNTech cited challenges in reaching their target of roughly ⁠25,000 to 30,000 participants in the 50-64 age group, according to Reuters. 

Moderna is reportedly facing similar recruitment challenges testing its COVID-19 booster. 

“This study is not ending as a result of any safety or benefit-risk concerns. We intend to stop the study due to slow enrollment and therefore the inability ​to generate relevant post-marketing data,” the two companies told the news service.

“This is a very difficult population to recruit,” said one executive at a contract research organization involved in the trial who spoke to Reuters.

“Even when ​patients are willing to participate in COVID ​studies, more than 80% fail at pre-screening ⁠because they don’t meet the health criteria. It’s been a real challenge to enroll enough patients, particularly given the scale of these trials,” the executive said.

National interest in COVID-19 vaccines has plummeted

Overall, only about 18% of Americans received COVID-19 booster shots during the 2025-2026 season, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

That represents a huge decline from early 2022 when 47.5% — nearly half of America’s adult population — submitted to COVID-19 boosters.

“In the wake of COVID, we are left with an undeniable crisis in health,” radiologist and political commentator Dr. Scott Atlas explained in April 2025. “Trust in health guidance has plummeted more rapidly since 2019 than any other government institution, with almost two-thirds now rating the FDA and the CDC as ‘only fair or poor.’”

“Half of America no longer has much confidence in science itself,” Atlas said. “Trust in our doctors and hospitals dropped from 71 percent in 2019 to 40 percent in 2024.”

“Vaccines have become a divisive issue in American politics, but there is one thing all parties can agree on: The U.S. faces a crisis of public trust,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared not long after taking office. “Whether toward health agencies, pharmaceutical companies or vaccines themselves, public confidence is waning.”

RFK Jr. said that the industry and the government health agencies that regulate them “needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science.” 

“In the 1960s, the world sought guidance from America’s health regulators, who had a reputation for integrity, scientific impartiality and zealous defense of patient welfare,” the HHS Secretary said. “Public trust has since collapsed.”

“We will earn it back,” he promised.