Those contracts, comprising the majority of Operation Warp Speed’s $10 billion budget, suggest a deep CIA involvement with the COVID-19 vaccine enterprise’s cozy deals with Big Pharma. As assistant secretary for Preparedness and Response with HHS, Robert Kadlec personally signed off on those sweetheart deals. The terms allow Operation Warp Speed to completely “bypass the regulatory oversight and transparency of traditional federal contracting mechanisms,” as NPR put it.
