Government halts $240M oral COVID vaccine contract and freezes clinical trials, as new health leadership under Kennedy signals potential shifts in vaccine funding policies.
The story
The government just slammed the brakes on $240 million meant for a new oral COVID vaccine. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stopped the contract with Vaxart Inc., which might signal bigger changes ahead in how the government handles vaccine funding.
This isn’t just about money – they’ve put a 90-day hold on clinical trials that would have involved 10,000 people. Vaxart can’t bill for the remaining funds, though they can still charge for keeping tabs on current trial participants.
This comes as part of bigger changes happening right now. President Trump signed orders stopping federal money for COVID vaccine requirements in schools and bringing back military members who lost jobs over vaccine refusal. He also started the Make America Healthy Again Commission, with Kennedy leading it.
Remember Operation Warp Speed? That’s when the government spent billions developing COVID vaccines. But things look different now. Kennedy says poor oversight during Biden’s term means they need to look more carefully at these vaccine agreements.
We’ve gone from full speed ahead to pumping the brakes. While it’s too early to say this is the end of government-backed COVID vaccine development, it’s definitely not business as usual anymore. This pause could be the first sign of a major shift in how the U.S. approaches future vaccine projects.
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