Exactly my point.  They had a guaranteed payout of nearly 2 billion if they achieved Trump's goal; nothing if they didn't.  If they really want to be truthful, they will provide the vaccine doses to the government for free.  Then they can say they took no money and were never part of Trump's plan.

You have a special sense of business! Why should they give for free what they produced under  their own steam? And by the time the vaccine is on the market Trump will be a goner.

I didn't say they should give away for free.  I SAID:  If they really want to say they took nothing from the government, they would not take the nearly 2 billion guaranteed buyout to speed things up.  We will never know what they would have done without that guaranteed payout, because they accepted it.  Maybe the vaccine would still have been speeded up; maybe it wouldn't have been.  

Your assumption of a lack of business acumen on my part is beneath you, Di.  I have a fairly good grasp of economics, but always appreciate a refresher course.  Of course, you didn't provide one.  Just poked at me.

Di (amina046) said:

And by the time the vaccine is on the market Trump will be a goner.

So...?

THIS is interesting, and I admire Trump for trying.  Because no one has mentioned how much this vaccine is going to cost the average person.

U.S.

New Trump Medicare drug-price rules denounced as political revenge by industry

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced two rules aimed at lowering drug prices for people 65 and older in the Medicare health insurance program, prompting a biotechnology industry group to accuse the president of seeking political revenge.

Read more from U.S.

Which vaccine are they doing?

(My NYT paywall has arrived).