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Can some explain why Pfizer insists they were not part of the Operation Warp Speed ([1] “We were never part of the Warp Speed”), despite the fact that both Warp Speed [2] and Pfizer itself [3] had press releases in July that stated the opposite?

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/health/covid-vaccine-pfiz...

[2] https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/07/22/us-government-enga...

[3] https://investors.pfizer.com/investor-news/press-release-det...

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Looks like the government “pre ordered” vaccine from Pfizer but Pfizer didn’t actually accept funding for development:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-electio...

So the US Government gave them a put option for 100 million doses (or 50 million vaccines) with a strike of about $20 per dose. And they took that put option. This is a very valuable option that removes a lot of R&D risk. They didn't get an upfront cash amount, but saying they "were never part of the operation Warp Speed" sounds quite disingenuous to me.

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