The Department of Health and Human Services has lodged a $1.8 million purchase order for monkeys and other primates to act as test subjects for coronavirus-related treatments, federal procurement records indicate. The contract, dated March 27, lists coronavirus as the “national interest action” at issue, and awards $1.8 million to the company Worldwide Primates, which bills itself as “a leading supplier of premium quality non-human primate models for research, including government, university, and pharmaceutical level facilities.” It appears to be the federal government’s first purchase of animal test subjects during the coronavirus outbreak. A number of pharmaceutical companies are currently developing vaccines for the virus, but human tests are not expected to begin until the fall. According to its website, Worldwide Primates “does not sell pet primates, only primate research models.” The site asks viewers not to “contact us for information about pet monkeys.”
