Trump administration tried to buy coronavirus vaccine ‘only for the US’, report says

Richard Hall
Updated ·1 min read
Many are worried about the economic impact of coronavirus: Getty
Many are worried about the economic impact of coronavirus: Getty

The Trump administration offered “large sums of money” to a German research company for exclusive rights to a coronavirus vaccine, according to Die Welt.

The German daily reported that the White House tried to convince CareVac, a biopharmaceutical firm based in Tuebingen, to move its research to the US. It quoted a German government official saying the offer was to develop the vaccine “only for the United States”.

The move prompted the German government to offer its own financial incentives to keep the company in the country, the report added.

A German Health Ministry later confirmed the report to Reuters.

CureVac is one of a number of companies currently working on a vaccine for the coronavirus. Last week it said it hopes to have an experimental vaccine ready by June or July, and would push for human testing soon after.

Earlier this month, CureVac’s CEO met with president Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence at the White House to discuss the company’s work on a vaccine.

The company issued a statement on Sunday, saying it “rejects current rumours of an acquisition.”

Responding to the report, the US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, wrote on Twitter: “The Welt story was wrong.”