No, COVID-19 vaccines were not manufactured by military contractors

Context

On May 12, 2023, U.S. lawyer and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that COVID-19 vaccines were manufactured by military contractors, not by Pfizer or Moderna. According to Kennedy, the vaccines were manufactured as part of a military project. The claim was made during an interview with British comedian and conspiracy theorist Russell Brand. Kennedy also claimed that COVID-19 vaccines were not actually developed by the pharmaceutical industry but by the American National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to Kennedy, the NIH owns 50 percent of the patents.

In Fact

Pfizer's vaccine was developed in cooperation with the German biotech company BioNTech. BioNTech began its research in January 2020 after the first identified cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. BioNTech was already exploring potential cancer vaccines and the possibility of creating vaccines against infectious diseases, specifically an mRNA-based vaccine against flu, when COVID-19 hit.

The Moderna vaccine was developed in its laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company had been working with mRNA technology since 2010 and had developed mRNA as a bioplatform, allowing for speedier vaccine development.

In May 2021, the majority of the Moderna vaccine production took place in Cambridge, Massachusets, where the company is based. Pfizer vaccines are produced at BioNTech and Pfizer facilities in Marburg, Germany, and Puurs, Belgium, as well as other countries. 

Since November 2021, Moderna has been involved in disputes with the National Institutes of Health. The NIH has claimed co-ownership of the patent as NIH scientists helped design the genetic sequence used in the vaccine. The dispute has not yet been settled. No such claims have been made about the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. 

The Verdict

The vaccines are manufactured at Moderna, Pfizer, and BioNTech facilities. The Pfizer vaccine was developed in collaboration with BioNTech.