A shadowy vaccine company with ties to a former Biden pandemic advisor received $28 million in taxpayer money despite having no website, no physical location beyond a P.O. box, and executives who don’t publicly disclose their roles.
At a Glance
- The National Institutes of Health awarded $28 million to Vaccine Company Inc., a mysterious firm founded in 2022 with minimal public presence
- The company’s CFO is Sonya Bernstein, a former Biden pandemic adviser, raising serious conflict of interest concerns
- Vaccine Company Inc. lists its address as a P.O. box in Bethesda, Maryland, with inconsistent business filings across multiple states
- Senator Joni Ernst has demanded an investigation into the grant’s approval process, with a report due by March 17
- The company is tasked with developing vaccines for West Nile, dengue, and Zika viruses despite its questionable operational history
A P.O. Box Company Gets Millions in Taxpayer Money
In a stunning example of government waste and potential corruption, Vaccine Company Inc., a firm that seemingly exists only on paper, has been handed $28 million from the National Institutes of Health. This company, barely three years old, has no website, no public-facing operations, and lists its primary business address as nothing more than a post office box in Bethesda, Maryland. Yet somehow, this ghost company was deemed worthy of millions in taxpayer funding, ostensibly to develop vaccines for West Nile, dengue, and Zika viruses. The timing and circumstances surrounding this grant have raised serious red flags about how pandemic-era connections might be influencing the distribution of government funds.
Adding to the suspicious nature of this arrangement is the company’s leadership. The CFO is none other than Sonya Bernstein, a former Biden COVID advisor who apparently didn’t see fit to publicly disclose her role with the company. Similarly, CEO Susan Silbermann, previously an executive at Pfizer, keeps her position with Vaccine Company Inc. under wraps on her public profiles. The company’s business registration filings only deepen the mystery, listing different primary locations across California, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Senator Joni Ernst has rightfully called attention to this troubling lack of transparency and demanded answers about where exactly our tax dollars are going.
Political Connections Raising Serious Questions
The revolving door between government and private industry has rarely spun so blatantly as in this case. Sonya Bernstein, who served as a COVID advisor in the Biden White House, now finds herself in the convenient position of receiving millions in government grants for her shadowy company. This arrangement reeks of the kind of insider dealing that the American people have grown tired of seeing from Washington. The grant approval process remains frustratingly opaque, with little explanation as to how a company with virtually no operational history or public presence could be entrusted with such a significant amount of taxpayer money.
While the company is reportedly affiliated with Arch Venture Partners, a biotechnology investment firm, this connection does little to explain the extraordinary fast-tracking of funds to an entity with such questionable qualifications. The American people deserve to know what special considerations might have been extended to Vaccine Company Inc. due to its political connections. Senator Ernst has requested a probe into the company’s operations and the grant’s vetting process, with a report due by March 17. This scrutiny is desperately needed to ensure that our tax dollars aren’t being funneled to political insiders under the guise of public health initiatives.
A Pattern of Questionable NIH Funding Decisions
This controversial grant comes at a time when the NIH’s funding decisions are already under intense scrutiny. Recently, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to halt NIH’s decision to cut research grants in 22 states, a ruling that was later expanded nationwide. These proposed cuts would have capped administrative and overhead costs, particularly impacting public and mid-tier universities. While belt-tightening might be necessary in some areas, it’s remarkable that the NIH could find $28 million for a mysterious P.O. box company while simultaneously threatening legitimate research institutions with funding reductions.
The case of Vaccine Company Inc. represents everything wrong with how government agencies distribute taxpayer funds. A company with no visible operations, no transparency, and led by former government insiders receives millions while legitimate research faces potential cuts. Meanwhile, the company has reportedly been involved in clinical trials for a COVID mRNA vaccine, further suggesting that pandemic-era connections are being leveraged for financial gain. As Senator Ernst rightly points out, the American people deserve answers about where their money is going. This level of opacity in government spending cannot be allowed to continue if we expect to maintain any public trust in our institutions.
