Operation Warp Speed

About Operation Warp Speed

Operation Warp Speed was the US government program to accelerate COVID 19 vaccine development. Announced in May 2020, the program invested roughly 18 billion dollars in vaccine development and manufacturing. Warp Speed supported Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax, Johnson and Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Sanofi. The program used Other Transaction Authority to bypass standard government procurement rules. Moncef Slaoui, former head of vaccines at GSK, was the chief scientific adviser. Gustave Perna, a four star general, managed logistics. Warp Speed helped deliver authorized vaccines within a year, though it fell short of its early target of 300 million doses by January 2021. The program was criticized for initial distribution problems. Operation Warp Speed became a model for future government backed biomedical programs, demonstrating what is possible with sufficient funding and coordination.