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The push to bring manufacturing back to America sits at the top of President Donald Trump's agenda. He has vowed to revitalize U.S. industry, casting domestic production as essential to both economic competitiveness and national security.

It's the right goal, but the government needs to focus on the right industries. In addition to investing in domestic car and steel manufacturers, America must realize it already has a proven model to follow: vaccines. These lifesaving medical tools represent our clearest example of advanced manufacturing, on American soil, done right.

In the 2000s, as pandemic risks like H1N1 and SARS became apparent, U.S. policymakers pressed for an “always-on” vaccine capability – infrastructure ready to scale at a moment's notice. That has paid off decisively. We've since seen more than 20 years of vaccine manufacturer investment in our workforce, regulatory science and a stable market. The result: a healthier population, a stronger economy and a more secure nation.

Consider RSV, a common respiratory virus and the leading cause of hospitalization among babies in the U.S. During the 2024-25 RSV season – the first with broad availability of maternal RSV vaccination and an antibody shot for newborns – hospitalization rates for infants under seven months were 28-43% lower than in pre-pandemic seasons. This reflects tens of thousands fewer severe RSV cases in young children thanks to these new prevention tools.

And yet, the Department of Health and Human Services is now moving in the opposite direction. Instead of holding vaccine manufacturing up as the blueprint for industrial........

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