$1.6B from White House to drugmaker for bug vaccine

The White House is pouring $1.6 billion into a potential vaccine for coronavirus being developed by drug manufacturer Novavax.

The Trump administration wants the pharma giant to be able to quickly produce 100 million doses of a vaccine for COVID-19 — if it proves safe and effective.

The 10-figure investment is the latest cash drop as the government seeks to spread its money around with a goal of hitting vaccine pay dirt by early next year at the latest.

“Adding Novavax’s candidate to Operation Warp Speed’s diverse portfolio of vaccines increases the odds that we will have a safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of the year,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement, referring to Trump’s name for the vaccine race.

Novavax began clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine in Australia, with preliminary results expected by Aug. 1, CBS News reported.

The company is the sixth vaccine candidate known to have received U.S. funding and the most lucrative deal so far. The feds committed $1.2 billion to production of a potential coronavirus vaccine developed at the University of Oxford and licensed by drugmaker AstraZeneca.