CDC Just Awarded Pfizer $1.2 Billion for COVID-19 Shots

U.S. federal procurement records published in June 2026 show that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded Pfizer more than $1.24 billion in contracts for adult and pediatric mRNA COVID-19 shots for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The contracts, which were published on SAM.gov and contained more money allocated for pediatric COVID shots than adult COVID shots, were issued June 1, 2026 through the CDC Office of Acquisition Services. Those contracts include a pediatric contract totaling $735,720,598 and an adult contract totaling $505,272,000.^{1 2}

SAM.gov, which stands for System for Award Management, is the official U.S. government website managed by the General Services Administration (GSA) where entities register to bid on federal contracts, do business with the government, and search federal assistance listings.³

The pediatric contract exceeds the amount of the adult contract by more than $230 million, despite children being at significantly lower risk for complications from SARS-CoV-2 infections than adults.⁴ The procurement records provide no explanation or justification for the awards or why demand for pediatric mRNA COVID shots would warrant a significantly larger contract than one for adults.^{1 2}

Pediatric Contract Exceeds Adult Contract by $230 Million Even Though SARS-CoV-2 Infections are Asymptomatic or Mild in Children

Public health officials and published research over the past several years have found that SARS-CoV-2 infections in most children are asymptomatic or mild. This is thought to be due to children having a faster, more robust early immune response which prevents the virus from progressing into severe infections seen in adults that may require hospitalization. Healthy children also do not suffer from chronic health problems like obesity or diabetes that make SARS-CoV-2 infections for adults more dangerous. Further, some research indicates that children have fewer viral receptors, such as ACE2, in their mucosal nasal tissues, making it harder for SARS-CoV-2 to latch on compared to adults, although researchers note this remains a hypothesis rather than a confirmed finding.^{5 6 7}

Despite evidence of much milder or asymptomatic infections in children, the CDC recommended COVID shots for children in 2022 and then added them to the CDC recommended childhood vaccine schedule in early 2023 for infants as young as six months old.⁸

These recommendations were later changed in the fall of 2025 when the CDC applied “individual” or “shared” decision-making to adult and childhood vaccination schedules, among other updates, such as recommending toddlers receive the live virus varicella (chickenpox) vaccine as a standalone vaccination rather than in the combination live virus measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccination. The CDC states that “the combination vaccine doubles the risk of febrile seizures without conferring additional protection from varicella compared to standalone vaccination.”⁹

“Informed consent is back,” Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said in response to the changes. O’Neill, also the acting Director of the CDC at the time, continued, “CDC’s 2022 blanket recommendation for perpetual COVID-19 boosters deterred health care providers from talking about the risks and benefits of vaccination for the individual patient or parent. That changes today.” O’Neill further commended the doctors and public health experts of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for educating Americans about vaccine safety signals documented in manufacturer package inserts, published peer-reviewed research, and consumer self-reporting databases such as VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System).⁹

Read the current 2025-2026 CDC recommendations for COVID shots here.

Blank Contract Descriptions and No Data on Quantities or Anticipated Demand, Effectiveness and Safety

Independent investigative reporter Jon Fleetwood raised several concerns about the transparency of the federal funds directed to Pfizer for mRNA COVID shots in a June 11, 2026 Substack post, noting that the procurement records included blank contract descriptions and offered “no explanation for the spending.” Fleetwood wrote that the filings provided no data on projected dose quantities, anticipated demand, effectiveness, or safety considerations to justify the $1.24 billion allocated toward COVID shot purchases for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, and separately stated that the pediatric contract exceeded the adult contract by more than $230 million despite children facing substantially lower risk from the virus.¹⁰

Fleetwood additionally flagged that the substantial $1.24 billion allocation comes as more Americans “increasingly reject COVID vaccines” and there is declining uptake among the general public as the “debate over the risk-benefit profile of repeated vaccination, particularly for healthy children” is not going away.¹⁰

Fleetwood said:

Only 9% of children are reported by the CDC to be up to date with the 2025─26 COVID-19 vaccine, emphasizing the low demand among the young demographic. Just 3.0% of parents say they even plan to vaccinate their child. The same report shows only 17% of adults received the 2025─26 COVID-19 vaccine.¹⁰

Poll: More Than Half of Voters Think COVID-19 Shots “May Have Killed Many People”

Rasmussen Reports, an electronic media company that conducts national tracking surveys on political, economic and lifestyle issues, reports that, according to a recent poll it conducted, more than half of voters think COVID-19 shots “may have killed many people.” The Rasmussen Reports polling report, which Fleetwood also included in his article, states, “The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 56% of anticipated U.S. voters consider it “Likely” that side effects of COVID-19 vaccines have caused a significant number of unexplained deaths, including 32% who believe it’s “Very Likely.” Thirty-five percent said it’s “Not Likely” there were significant deaths from COVID-19 vaccines, including 17% who think it’s “Not At All Likely.” These findings have changed little since September 2024.”¹¹

In a post on his Focal Points Substack, epidemiologist Nicholas Hulsher commented on the $1.8 billion award to Pfizer. He wrote;

While demand has collapsed, CDC officials continue to lock in hundreds of millions of dollars in future purchases of the mRNA COVID shots for both infants and adults through its regular procurement channels.  Our public health agencies are doubling down after getting caught covering-up 25 major safety signals — including sudden death. Instead of accountability, we are watching billions of dollars being funneled into the same gene-transfer products that have injured, disabled, or killed millions of innocent Americans.¹²

Health Secretary Kennedy Disputes Signficance of mRNA COVID Shot Contracts

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., commenting on the publicly available records, says the government has not completed the purchases for COVID shots. He wrote in a June 18 post on X:

The claim that CDC has already spent $1.24 billion on COVID-19 vaccines is simply wrong. HHS and CDC have not purchased COVID-19 vaccines for the upcoming respiratory season and have made no decisions regarding future purchases. IDIQ contracts allowing future orders are not the same as spending taxpayer dollars.¹³

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