HHS Halts Funding for Advanced COVID-19 Vaccine Development

April 18, 2025 TruthUSA

GeoVax is working on a new COVID-19 vaccine.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has ceased funding for an advanced COVID-19 vaccine, which received grant support during the Biden administration, as stated by the vaccine developer on April 16.

headquartered in Georgia, GeoVax reported that the termination order from HHS took effect on April 11 and impacted a grant of approximately $24.3 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of HHS responsible for the Biden administration’s Project NextGen.

“We had no prior notice that this was coming. The announcement surprised us, as we, along with our external contractors and consultants, were making significant progress and had a productive collaboration with the BARDA technical team,” stated David Dodd, GeoVax’s president and CEO, at a conference on Wednesday.

Dodd mentioned that the financial ramifications of the stopped funding for the company would be under $750,000 annually concerning overhead and personnel expenses.

The stop-work order arrived just five months before the phase 2b segment of the clinical trial was set to begin participant recruitment, he noted.

HHS did not provide a response to a request for comment.

“From what we understand, the contract termination seems to stem from the current administration’s efforts towards government efficiency,” said Dodd.

During President Donald Trump’s administration and under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the department and other agencies have been reducing personnel and programs considered inefficient.

In June 2024, U.S. officials announced the grant awarded to GeoVax for the phase 2b clinical trial of the vaccine, which BARDA characterized as a novel candidate “that may offer broader, longer-lasting protection.”

Project NextGen aimed to allocate $5 billion in funding for the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and testing initiatives.

GeoVax’s vaccine, GEO-CM04S1, will continue to be developed, as confirmed by the company.

“We do not foresee any major alterations to our current operations due to the contract termination,” Dodd remarked, further stating their “commitment to GEO-CM04S1 as an essential next-generation COVID-19 vaccine that could elicit a more robust immune response against emerging variants.”

Previously, HHS issued a stop-work order for another COVID-19 vaccine developed by Vaxart, which also received funding through Project NextGen. An HHS representative informed The Epoch Times in February that the order was initiated just days before 10,000 individuals were set to commence clinical trials for that vaccine.

“Four years of inadequate oversight during the Biden administration necessitated a review of agreements concerning vaccine production, including that of Vaxart,” Kennedy stated to Fox News at the time.

More recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), another agency under HHS, failed to determine whether to authorize Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, which is currently authorized for emergency use, before a specific deadline.

Kennedy expressed that officials are examining the vaccine, while claiming that single-antigen vaccines have historically been ineffective for respiratory illnesses like COVID-19.

Novavax has asserted that its vaccine is effective.

Dr. Tracy Hoeg, a special assistant to FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, mentioned in a recent panel meeting that the administration would provide an update on the Novavax vaccine shortly.

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