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Dr. Slaoui on whether Operation Warp Speed vaccine contracts should be released: “I don’t see any reason why not”

FLASHBACK: “Vaccine project contract raises transparency questions”

FLASHBACK: “Lack of Transparency, Conflicts of Interest Surround Trump’s ‘Operation Warp Speed’ Vaccine Development Program”

Washington, DC – On Friday, on a podcast appearance with Axios’ Re:Cap, Operation Warp Speed (OWS) top scientist Dr. Moncef Slaoui joined Accountable Pharma and other watchdog and patients’ advocacy groups in saying that the shadowy contracts between OWS and the drug companies, involving billions of taxpayer dollars, should be released. This comes the day after Accountable Pharma joined with American Oversight and Lower Drug Prices Now in filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requesting the release of contracting records amid growing concerns about inadequate oversight for public funding. 

“It is great to hear Dr. Slaoui admit that there is absolutely no reason for the Trump Administration to continue shrouding these contracts in secrecy and blocking people from knowing what assurances the government got, if any, in return for the billions of dollars being shoveled into the coffers of the drug companies,” said Eli Zupnick, spokesman for Accountable Pharma. “Now Secretary Azar needs to explain if he disagrees with Dr. Slaoui, and if not, why he continues to keep these contracts in the shadows.”

Transcript (7:40 in the recording here)

Axios Re:Cap: The actual deals themselves, at least on the vaccine side, will those contracts get publicly released? Because to date I don’t think they have been except for the topline information. 

Dr. Slaoui: It’s a policy decision. I don’t see any reason why not. But it’s a policy decision, not my decision. 

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In a prior podcast appearance back in August, Dr. Slaoui lambasted the media coverage of his conflicts of interest and unprecedented lack of transparency, making the claim that coverage of him and scrutiny of OWS slows down and decreases the chances of finding a vaccine. 

Patients Over Pharma has been raising the alarm about the egregious lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the Trump Administration’s ‘Operation Warp Speed’ vaccine and treatment development process and the serious conflicts of interest facing its leadership. Following reporting that revealed a suspicious contract from Operation Warp Speed that is being used to pay for the housing of Dr. Slaoui, Patients Over Pharma filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to shine additional light on the shadowy arrangement.

In July, Patients Over Pharma released a report marking two months since the formal launch of the Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed (OWS) on May 15, 2020. The report laid out the significant connections between OWS leadership and major drug companies, the conflicts of interest that have emerged as multi-billion-dollar decisions have been made, and what we know about the drug companies that have received billions in taxpayer dollars handed out so far.  

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