HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Halts Biden Administration’s $240 Million Contract for Oral COVID Vaccine
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has halted a $240 million contract signed by the Biden administration to develop an oral COVID-19 vaccine.
The contract, which has now been paused for 90 days, is with biotech company Vaxart Inc.
The project’s freeze comes just before 10,000 people were scheduled to begin clinical trials for the oral vaccine on Monday.
Kennedy and his team will review the initial study before deciding whether to terminate the contract or allow it to continue.
“While it is crucial that the Department [of] Health and Human Services (HHS) support pandemic preparedness, four years of the Biden administration’s failed oversight have made it necessary to review agreements for vaccine production, including Vaxart’s,” Kennedy said in a statement to Fox News.
Kennedy added, “I look forward to working with Vaxart and medical experts to ensure this work produces safe, effective, and fiscal-minded vaccine technology.”
Fox News reports:
The creation of a new COVID-19 vaccine was part of the Biden administration’s $4.7 billion Project NextGen initiative, which was launched in 2023 and works to streamline the development of new vaccines. The Vaxart vaccine was specifically funded through an agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is a department within the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response under the HHS umbrella.
BARDA obligated roughly $460 million to Vaxart’s development of the new vaccine, with a total of $240 million already authorized for the preliminary study, Fox Digital learned.
A recent modification to the contract would have allowed Vaxart to invoice BARDA for the remaining roughly $230 million for clinical trials, but the stop-work order prevents the biotech company from invoicing BARDA until further notice. Vaxart, however, can still invoice HHS related to medical monitoring of individuals who took part in an initial round of trials, Fox Digital learned.
Kennedy has long run a non-profit called Children’s Health Defense. According to the organization’s website, its mission is to “end childhood health epidemics by working aggressively to eliminate harmful exposures, hold those responsible accountable, and establish safeguards to prevent future harm. We fight corruption, mass surveillance and censorship that put profits before people as well as advocate for worldwide rights to health freedom and bodily autonomy.”
The organization provides legal assistance with fighting mandatory vaccination in schools and the workplace.
During his presidential campaign, Kennedy said he would prosecute any official who engaged in criminal wrongdoing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is dawning on mainstream figures like Anthony Fauci that their Covid policies were a public health disaster,” Kennedy began. “Lots of us are angry about the mandates, the lockdowns, the censorship, the insanity. But we need to avoid the toxic quagmire of retribution and blame and focus on ensuring this never happens again. Clean up the regulatory agencies, get corporate money out of public health, and guarantee free, open, uncensored public and scientific discourse.”
Not retribution, but justice! As President, I will direct my attorney general to investigate and prosecute every person who knowingly defrauded or deceived the American public about the safety and efficacy of medical products and I will obtain justice and compensation for every…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) April 27, 2023
Kennedy continued, “Of course, officials who betrayed the public trust must not be allowed to hold power. I will remove them from their positions and, if laws were broken, my attorney general will prosecute.”
“Just to be clear, I will prosecute any official who engaged in criminal wrongdoing during the pandemic,” the candidate said. “Corrupt individuals are a small part of the problem. Our agencies have been captured by corporate power, but the vast majority of their staff are decent people. We need to get corporate influence out of *all* regulatory agencies so that they can serve the people honestly.”
“Not retribution, but justice!” Kennedy said. “As President, I will direct my attorney general to investigate and prosecute every person who knowingly defrauded or deceived the American public about the safety and efficacy of medical products and I will obtain justice and compensation for every American who was injured or suffered the death of family members from those actions. As a presidential candidate, I’ll continue to expose corruption to obtain justice for the injured.”
The post HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Halts Biden Administration’s $240 Million Contract for Oral COVID Vaccine appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.