by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News March 2, 2025
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a stop-work order on a contract awarded by the Biden-Harris administration to a biotech company for the production of a new Covid vaccine.
The 90-day stop-work order was issued for the HHS contract with American biotech company Vaxart Inc., which has been developing a Covid vaccine that is taken orally.
The stop-work order came just before the beginning of clinical trials that were scheduled to start this past Monday with 10,000 individuals, according to a Fox News Digital report 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 said in a statement.
The contract is part of the Biden-Harris regime's $4.7 billion Project NextGen initiative, which it launched in 2023 to “streamline the development of new vaccines.”
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, the report said.
Fox News Digital learned that BARDA had obligated $460 million for the development of Vaxart’s oral Covid vaccine, and $240 million had already been authorized for the preliminary study.
Kennedy's stop-work order prevents Vaxart from invoicing BARDA for the remaining $220 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.
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