Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has halted a Biden-era contract to create a new COVID-19 vaccine, Fox News Digital reported on Tuesday.
“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 told the outlet in a statement.
“I look forward to working with Vaxart and medical experts to ensure this work produces safe, effective, and fiscal-minded vaccine technology,” he added.
The HHS contract is with American biotech company Vaxart Inc., which has been developing a new COVID-19 vaccine that is taken orally. Kennedy did not terminate the contract. Instead, the trial is paused with a 90-day stop-work order issued on Friday.
The stop-work order came ahead of the beginning of clinical trials on Monday with 10,000 individuals, according to the report.
The contract is part of the Biden administration $4.7 billion Project NextGen initiative, which it launched in 2023 to “streamline the development of new vaccines,” the report states. The Vaxart vaccine is funded through an agreement with BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority), which is a department in the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response under HHS.
Fox News Digital learned that BARDA had obligated $460 million for the development of Vaxart’s COVID-19 vaccine, and $240 million had already been authorized for the preliminary study.
The stop-work order prevents Vaxart from invoicing BARDA for the remaining $230 million for clinical trials until further notice, according to the report. Vaxart is still able to invoice HHS for medical monitoring of people who took part in early trials.
The pause comes less than two weeks after Kennedy’s confirmation as HHS Secretary. President Donald Trump signed an executive order following Kennedy’s confirmation creating the Make American Healthy Again Commission, which Kennedy will lead to investigate and handle “the root causes of America’s escalating health crisis.”
During the Biden administration, COVID-19 vaccines were mandated across the federal government, and many businesses also mandated the vaccine, leading to massive backlash, protests, and the firing of employees across the nation who refused to comply.
Trump has since signed executive orders related to the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates, including reinstating service members who were dismissed for refusing to take coronavirus vaccines. Trump also signed an order prohibiting federal funding for schools and universities that require students to be vaccinated against coronavirus before they can attend classes in person.
The post Trump’s HHS Halts Multimillion-Dollar Biden-Era Contract to Create New COVID-19 Vaccine appeared first on Breitbart.
