Remember when JD Vance got on Joe Rogan's podcast in 2024 and described his COVID vaccine experience as the sickest he'd been in 15 years? Bedridden for two days, racing heart, worse than any of his five COVID infections. He said he got "red-pilled" after that. Well, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) remembers, and he wants to know why the Vice President isn't speaking out now that the Trump administration's CDC just handed Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer (PFE)) a $1.24 billion contract for more COVID shots.
"So why isn't he speaking out now," Massie wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, linking to a report about the June contract. Massie's point is straightforward: if Vance was so critical of the vaccines and their impact, why is he silent when his own administration is pouring billions into them?
Vance's office and Pfizer didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Massie isn't alone in raising eyebrows. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) also wrote to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the CDC, and the FDA, expressing concerns about the two contracts—one for pediatric vaccines, one for adult—totaling nearly $1.24 billion. Johnson noted that the FDA had assessed ten cases of pediatric deaths as probably linked to these vaccines.
RFK Jr. Pumps the Brakes
But HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed back on the idea that the government had already spent $1.24 billion. He explained that the CDC's agreements with Pfizer are Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. In plain English: these are frameworks that allow the government to order vaccines if needed, but no money has actually changed hands yet. Vaccine orders are placed only as demand arises.
Sen. Johnson later acknowledged RFK Jr.'s clarification, so the immediate controversy may have cooled a bit. But the underlying tension remains: why lock in a $1.24 billion framework for vaccines that many in the GOP have been skeptical of?
Adding to the complexity, in April, Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE (BioNTech (BNTX)) halted enrollment in a large U.S. trial of their updated COVID-19 vaccine for adults aged 50–64. The reason? They couldn't recruit enough participants. They've notified the FDA of the decision.
The GOP's Vaccine Balancing Act
The Republican Party has generally opposed vaccine mandates, arguing that vaccination should be a personal choice. President Donald Trump has praised the COVID-19 vaccine as one of the "greatest" achievements but insists it shouldn't be mandated. That's a fine line: celebrating the science while opposing government requirements.
Vance isn't the only prominent figure who had a rough time with the vaccine. Tesla Inc. (Tesla (TSLA)) CEO Elon Musk said his second dose caused a severe reaction that "almost" sent him to the hospital and made him feel like he was dying. He described his actual COVID infection as similar to a bad cold or flu—"bad, but not terrible."
Meanwhile, in April, acting CDC director Jay Bhattacharya reportedly delayed publication of a CDC study showing COVID-19 vaccines reduced ER visits by 50% and hospitalizations by 55% among healthy adults. His reason? Methodology concerns—even though the approach was widely used. That kind of internal friction doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
So here's the situation: a Republican-led administration is setting up billion-dollar vaccine contracts, while key GOP figures who've been critical of the vaccines stay quiet. Massie is asking the obvious question. Whether Vance or anyone else answers remains to be seen.
