A further plunge in US vaccination rates since the appointment of US President Donald Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has delivered another massive blow to Australian biotechnology giant CSL, which warned its vaccine profits would take a hit, sparking a share price collapse.
Company chair Brian McNamee told CSL’s annual meeting on Tuesday that the double-digit decline in US vaccination rates was a shock to the group given the declines already experienced over the previous two years and it was yet to see a bottom to this vaccine decline.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr has espoused misinformation around vaccine safety, including a discredited theory that childhood vaccines cause autism.Credit: AP
“Did we think the declines we’d already seen in the last two years in the key US market … given the severity of the disease last year … did we expect that vaccination rates would drop again another 14 to 15 per cent? Remarkable, but it’s our reality,” McNamee said.
CSL said it expected US flu vaccination rates would decline by 12 per cent for the overall population and 14 per cent among people aged over 65 during the 2025/26 season, and would deliver a “mid-teens” drop in revenue in its business Seqirus, compared to a previous outlook expectation of a high single digit decline.
CSL shares plunged more than 16 per cent, wiping as much as $17 billion off its market valuation after the group downgraded its FY26 revenue and earnings guidance due to the significant fall in US vaccination rates since Kennedy’s appointment and actions which have undermined confidence in vaccines.
Kennedy has been a persistent critic of vaccines in the US, which has led to open disputes over vaccine policy with key public health staff, adding to fears about vaccine safety in the public.
McNamee said it would also delay the spin-off of the Seqirus vaccine business as US influenza vaccination rates have declined at a greater rate than expected since the spin-off was announced in August.
“To maximise shareholder value, given the heightened volatility in the current US influenza vaccine market, we have concluded that advancing with the previously proposed demerger timing will not fully capture Seqirus’ value potential,” he told investors at the annual meeting in Melbourne on Tuesday morning.
“We’re no longer targeting completion of the demerger in financial year 26; timing will be revisited when we’re confident that market conditions would support the maximisation of shareholder value for you.”
