Pfizer Confirms It Did Not Work with the Trump Administration to Develop Coronavirus Vaccine

Pfizer confirmed it did not work with the Trump administration to develop its coronavirus vaccine, which the company announced is 90 percent effective.

That did not stop Vice President Mike Pence from taking credit for the news, saying that the vaccine was the result of “the public-private partnership forged by” President Donald Trump as part of Operation WarpSpeed.

“We were never part of the Warp Speed … We have never taken any money from the U.S. government, or from anyone.” said Kathrin Jansen, a senior vice president and the head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer.

The New York Times noted in its coverage that “Dr. Jansen sought to distance the company from Operation Warp Speed and presidential politics, noting that the company — unlike the other vaccine front-runners — did not take any federal money to help pay for research and development.”

These facts were also highlighted in a post by NBC News White House Correspondent Geoff Bennett.

Earlier this morning, President Trump appeared to take credit for the Pfizer news as well as recent stock market gains. (The stock market did indeed see gains in the last couple of days. Reports indicate that the market surged amid the vaccine news and following President-Elect Joe Biden’s win.)

Alan Ryland

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.