Trump "worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize" for COVID vaccines, Pfizer CEO says

• His Health and Human and Services Department, led by vaccine skeptic Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is limiting access to COVID vaccines.
• Kennedy is also pulling $500 million in funding to develop new mRNA vaccines — the platform technology that was used to speedily deliver COVID vaccines.

Driving the news: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Wednesday called Trump's Operation Warp Speed — the 2020 American effort to develop COVID vaccines — "a profound public health achievement."

• "Such an accomplishment would typically be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, given its significant impact," Bourla said in a statement.
• He also provided a link to "numerous published studies and updates" that validate the Pfizer vaccine's "safety and effectiveness."

The intrigue: For years, Trump has wanted to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Axios' Alex Isenstadt reported in March.

• Supporters have cited his involvement in ceasefire talks in Ukraine and Gaza.
• "I deserve it," Trump said of the Nobel in February, " but they would never give it to me."

Zoom out: A wide variety of scientific studies show that COVID vaccines — including Pfizer's and Moderna's — have saved millions of lives.

• "As President Trump has made clear, the only driving principle of health decision-making in this Administration is Gold Standard Science," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said Wednesday in response to the Pfizer statement. "HHS, the FDA, and the CDC will continue to take an evidence-based approach to evaluate pharmaceutical treatments and Make America Healthy Again."

The bottom line: Pfizer has a lot to lose if access to its COVID vaccine is permanently limited.

• The shot pulled in $5.35 billion in revenue for Pfizer in 2024, making it the pharmaceutical company's fifth-best-selling treatment.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with a comment from the White House.