DEF 14A 1 def14a0722_bluewatervacc.htm PROXY STATEMENT

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549

________________________________

SCHEDULE 14A
(Rule 14a-101)

________________________________

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Filed by the Registrant		☒
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant		☐

Check the appropriate box:

☐		Preliminary Proxy Statement
☐		Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as Permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
☒		Definitive Proxy Statement
☐		Definitive Additional Materials
☐		Solicitation Material Pursuant to Rule 14a-11(c) or rule 14a-12

Blue Water Vaccines Inc.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

☒		No fee required.
☐		Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
☐		Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.

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BLUE WATER VACCINES INC.
201 E. Fifth Street, Suite 1900
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

July 18, 2022

To the Stockholders of Blue Water Vaccines Inc.:

You are cordially invited to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Meeting”) of Blue Water Vaccines Inc. (the “Company”) to be held on Monday, August 22, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time at the offices of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP located at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10105, United States of America, for the following purposes:

1. To elect Mike Venerable and Simon Tarsh as Class I directors (the “Director Nominees”) to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) for a three-year term that expires at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or until their successors are elected and qualified (the “Director Election Proposal”);

2. To approve amendments to the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Plan”) to (i) increase the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock which may be issued under the plan by 1,000,000 shares from 1,600,000 to 2,600,000 shares and (ii) change the maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be awarded to participants under the 2022 Plan as ISOs from 250,000 to a number that is equal to the number of shares reserved under the 2022 Plan at any time (the “2022 Plan Proposal”);

3. To ratify the appointment by the Board of Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022; and

4. To transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.

THE BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR THE ELECTION OF EACH OF THE DIRECTOR NOMINEES, A vote FOR the approval OF THE 2022 PLAN PROPOSAL, AND A VOTE FOR THE RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE COMPANY’S INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2022.

The Board has fixed the close of business on July 11, 2022 as the record date (the “Record Date”) for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof. Accordingly, only stockholders of record at the close of business on the Record Date are entitled to notice of, and shall be entitled to vote at, the Meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof.

Your vote is important. You are requested to carefully read the Proxy Statement and accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting for a more complete statement of matters to be considered at the Meeting.

		Sincerely yours,

		/s/ Joseph Hernandez
		Joseph Hernandez
		Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
		Blue Water Vaccines Inc.

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IMPORTANT

WHETHER OR NOT YOU EXPECT TO ATTEND THE MEETING, please read the proxy statement and promptly vote your proxy by completing, dating, signing and returning the enclosed proxy IN ORDER TO ASSURE REPRESENTATION OF YOUR SHARES AT THE MEETING. YOUR PROXY, GIVEN THROUGH THE RETURN OF THE PROXY CARD, MAY BE REVOKED PRIOR TO ITS EXERCISE BY FILING WITH OUR CORPORATE SECRETARY PRIOR TO THE MEETING A WRITTEN NOTICE OF REVOCATION OR A DULY EXECUTED PROXY BEARING A LATER DATE, OR BY ATTENDING THE MEETING AND VOTING IN PERSON.

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY VOTED OR DELIVERED YOUR PROXY FOR THE MEETING, YOUR VOTE WILL BE COUNTED, AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO VOTE YOUR SHARES AGAIN. IF YOU WISH TO CHANGE YOUR VOTE, YOU SHOULD REVOTE YOUR SHARES.

THE PROXY STATEMENT, OUR FORM OF PROXY CARD, AND OUR ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 ARE AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT HTTPS://IR.BLUEWATERVACCINES.COM/FINANCIAL-INFORMATION/ANNUAL-REPORT-AND-PROXY OR AT THE SEC’S WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV.

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BLUE WATER VACCINES Inc.
201 E. Fifth Street, Suite 1900
Cincinnati, OH 45202

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To be held on August 22, 2022

This proxy statement is furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Blue Water Vaccines Inc. (the “Company”) for use at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company and at all adjournments and postponements thereof (the “Meeting”). The Meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, August 22, 2022 at the offices of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP located at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10105, United States of America:

1. To elect Michael Venerable and Simon Tarsh as Class I directors (the “Director Nominees”) to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) for a three-year term that expires at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or until their successors are elected and qualified;

2. To approve amendments to the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Plan”) to (i) increase the aggregate number of shares of common stock of the Company, par value $0.00001 (the “Common Stock”) which may be issued under the plan by 1,000,000 shares from 1,600,000 to 2,600,000 shares and (ii) change the maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be awarded to participants under the 2022 Plan as ISOs from 250,000 to a number that is equal to the number of shares reserved under the 2022 Plan at any time (the “2022 Plan Proposal”);

3. To ratify the appointment by the Board of Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. (the “Auditor”) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022; and

4. To transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.

The Board unanimously recommends a vote “FOR” the approval of each of the Director Nominees, a vote “FOR” the approval of the 2022 Plan Proposal, and a vote “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of the Auditor as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.

Stockholders of record of our common stock at the close of business on July 11, 2022 (the “Record Date”) will be entitled to notice of, and are cordially invited to, attend the Meeting and to attend any adjournment or postponement thereof. However, to assure your representation at the Meeting, please vote your proxy by completing, dating, signing and returning the enclosed proxy. Even if you have previously submitted your proxy, you may choose to vote in person at the Meeting. Whether or not you expect to attend the Meeting, please read the Proxy Statement and then promptly vote your proxy in order to ensure your representation at the Meeting.

You may access the materials for the Meeting by visiting the website: https://ir.bluewatervaccines.com/financial-information/annual-report-and-proxy.

Each share of Common Stock entitles the holder thereof to one vote. A complete list of stockholders of record entitled to vote at the Meeting will be available for ten days before the Meeting at the principal executive office of the Company for inspection by stockholders during ordinary business hours for any purpose germane to the Meeting.

You are urged to review carefully the information contained in the enclosed proxy statement prior to deciding how to vote your shares.

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This notice and the attached proxy statement are first being disseminated to stockholders on or about July 19, 2022.

		BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,

		/s/ Joseph Hernandez
		Joseph Hernandez
		Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
		Blue Water Vaccines Inc.

IF YOU RETURN YOUR PROXY CARD WITHOUT AN INDICATION OF HOW YOU WISH TO VOTE, YOUR SHARES WILL BE VOTED IN FAVOR OF EACH OF THE DIRECTOR NOMINEES, THE APPROVAL OF 2022 PLAN PROPOSAL, AND THE RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE AUDITOR as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2022.

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Meeting to be Held on August 22, 2022: This Proxy Statement, along with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, is available at: http://www.bluewatervaccines.com/.

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		Page
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THESE PROXY MATERIALS		1
THE ANNUAL MEETING		5
PROPOSAL 1 — ELECTION OF DIRECTORS		8
PROPOSAL 2 — APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS TO THE BLUE WATER VACCINES INC. 2022 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN		30
PROPOSAL 3 — RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE COMPANY’S INDEPENDENT AUDITORS FOR FISCAL 2022		32
OTHER INFORMATION		34

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PROXY STATEMENT

BLUE WATER VACCINES Inc.
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
to be held at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, August 22, 2022

This proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”) and our annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (the “Annual Report” and, together with the Proxy Statement, the “proxy materials”) are being furnished by and on behalf of the board of directors (the “Board” or the “Board of Directors”) of Blue Water Vaccines Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), in connection with our 2022 annual meeting of stockholders (the “Meeting”). This Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement are first being distributed or made available, as the case may be, on or about July 19, 2022.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THESE PROXY MATERIALS

Why am I receiving this Proxy Statement?

The Company has delivered printed versions of these materials to you by mail, in connection with the Company’s solicitation of proxies for use at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company (the “Meeting”) to be held at the offices of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP located at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10105, United States of America on Monday, August 22, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, and at any postponement(s) or adjournment(s) thereof. These materials were first sent or given to stockholders on or about July 19, 2022. This proxy statement gives you information on these proposals so that you can make an informed decision.

What is included in these materials?

These materials include:

• This Proxy Statement for the Meeting;

• The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021; and

• The proxy card or voting instruction form for the Meeting.

Who can vote at the annual meeting of stockholders?

Stockholders who owned shares of our common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (“Common Stock”), on July 11, 2022 (the “Record Date”) may vote at the Meeting. There were 12,229,399 shares of Common Stock outstanding on the Record Date. All shares of Common Stock have one vote per share and vote together as a single class. Information about the stockholdings of our directors and executive officers is contained in the section of this Proxy Statement entitled “Beneficial Ownership of Principal Stockholders, Officers and Directors” on page 36 of this Proxy Statement.

What is the proxy card?

The proxy card enables you to appoint Joseph Hernandez, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Erin Henderson, our Chief Business Officer and Secretary, as your representatives at the Meeting. By completing and returning the proxy card or voting online as described herein, you are authorizing Mr. Hernandez and Ms. Henderson to vote your shares at the Meeting in accordance with your instructions on the proxy card. This way, your shares will be voted whether or not you attend the Meeting. Even if you plan to attend the Meeting, we think that it is a good idea to complete and return your proxy card before the Meeting date just in case your plans change. If a proposal comes up for vote at the Meeting that is not on the proxy card, the proxies will vote your shares, under your proxy, according to their best judgment.

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What am I voting on?

You are being asked to vote:

1. To elect Michael Venerable and Simon Tarsh directors (the “Director Nominees”) to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) for a three-year term that expires at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or until their successors are elected and qualified;

4. To transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.

How does the Board recommend that I vote?

Our Board unanimously recommends that the stockholders vote “FOR” each of the Director Nominees, “FOR” the approval of the 2022 Plan Proposal, and “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of the Auditor as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.

What is the difference between holding shares as a stockholder of record and as a beneficial owner?

Most of our stockholders hold their shares in an account at a brokerage firm, bank or other nominee holder, rather than holding share certificates in their own name. As summarized below, there are some distinctions between shares held of record and those owned beneficially.

Stockholder of Record

If, on the Record Date, your shares were registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, you are a “stockholder of record” who may vote at the Meeting, and we are sending these proxy materials directly to you. As the stockholder of record, you have the right to direct the voting of your shares as described below. Whether or not you plan to attend the Meeting, please complete, date and sign the enclosed proxy card to ensure that your vote is counted.

Beneficial Owner

If, on the Record Date, your shares were held in an account at a brokerage firm or at a bank or other nominee holder, you are considered the beneficial owner of shares held “in street name,” and these proxy materials are being forwarded to you by your broker or nominee who is considered the stockholder of record for purposes of voting at the Meeting. As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker on how to vote your shares and to attend the Meeting. However, since you are not the stockholder of record, you may not vote these shares in person at the Meeting unless you receive a valid proxy from your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee holder. To obtain a valid proxy, you must make a special request of your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee holder. If you do not make this request, you can still vote by using the voting instruction card enclosed with this proxy statement; however, you will not be able to vote in person at the Meeting.

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How do I vote my shares?

There are two ways to vote:

(1) In person. You may vote in person at the Meeting. The Company will give you a ballot when you arrive.

If I am a beneficial owner of shares held in street name, how do I vote?

There are two ways to vote:

(1) In person. If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name and you wish to vote in person at the Meeting, you must obtain a legal proxy from the brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer or other similar organization that holds your shares. Please contact that organization for instructions regarding obtaining a legal proxy.

(2) By Mail. If you request printed copies of the proxy materials by mail, you may vote by proxy by filling out the vote instruction form and sending it back in the envelope provided by your brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer or other similar organization that holds your shares.

What does it mean if I receive more than one proxy card?

You may have multiple accounts at the transfer agent and/or with brokerage firms. Please sign and return all proxy cards to ensure that all of your shares are voted.

What if I change my mind after I return my proxy?

You may revoke your proxy and change your vote at any time before the polls close at the Meeting. You may do this by:

• sending a written notice to Erin Henderson, our corporate Secretary, stating that you would like to revoke your proxy of a particular date;

• signing another proxy card with a later date and returning it before the polls close at the Meeting; or

• attending the Meeting and voting in person.

Please note, however, that if your shares are held of record by a brokerage firm, bank or other nominee, you must need to instruct your broker, bank or other nominee that you wish to change your vote by following the procedures on the voting form provided to you by the broker, bank or other nominee. If your shares are held in street name, and you wish to attend and vote at the Meeting, you must bring to the Meeting a legal proxy from the broker, bank or other nominee holding your shares, confirming your beneficial ownership of the shares and giving you the right to vote your shares.

Will my shares be voted if I do not sign and return my proxy card?

If your shares are held in your name and you do not sign and return your proxy card, your shares will not be voted unless you vote in person at the Meeting. If you hold your shares in the name of a broker, bank or other nominee, your nominee may determine to vote your shares at its own discretion on certain routine matters, such as the ratification of the Auditor, absent instructions from you. However, due to voting rules that may prevent your bank or broker from voting your uninstructed shares on a discretionary basis in the election of directors and other non-routine matters, it is important that you cast your vote.

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How may I vote with respect to each proposal and how are votes counted?

Your voting options will be dependent on the particular proposal for which you wish to cast a vote. With respect to proposal 1 (the Director Election Proposal), you may vote “for” all of the Director Nominees or “withhold” authority to vote for one or all of the Director Nominees. With respect to proposals 2 and 3, you may vote “for” or “against” the proposal or you may “abstain” from casting a vote on such proposal. Abstentions, votes marked “withheld” and broker non-votes will be counted for the purpose of determining whether a quorum is present at the Meeting.

Broker non-votes occur on a matter when a broker is not permitted to vote on that matter without instructions from the beneficial owner and instructions are not given. These matters are referred to as “non-routine” matters. The Director Election Proposal and the 2022 Plan Proposal are “non-routine.” Thus, in tabulating the voting result for these proposals, shares that constitute broker non-votes are not considered votes cast on that proposal. The ratification of the appointment of the Auditor is a “routine” matter and therefore a broker may vote on this matter without instructions from the beneficial owner as long as instructions are not given.

How many votes are required to elect the Director Nominees as directors of the Company?

In the election of directors, the two persons receiving the highest number of affirmative votes at the Meeting will be elected. Only shares that are voted in favor of a particular nominee will be counted toward that nominee’s achievement of a plurality. Shares present at the Meeting that are not voted for a particular nominee or shares present by proxy where the stockholder properly withheld authority to vote for such nominee will not be counted toward that nominee’s achievement of a plurality.

How many votes are required to approve the 2022 Plan Proposal?

The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the Meeting by the holders of Common Stock entitled to vote is required to approve the 2022 Plan Proposal. With respect to an abstention, the shares will be considered present and entitled to vote at the Meeting, but they will have no effect on the vote of the 2022 Plan proposal.

How many votes are required to ratify the Company’s independent public accountants?

The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the Meeting by the holders of Common Stock entitled to vote is required to ratify the Auditor as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Abstentions will have no direct effect on the outcome of this proposal, but since this is a routine matter, brokers may vote at the Meeting on this proposal, provided that they have not received instructions from a beneficial owner.

What happens if I don’t indicate how to vote my proxy?

If you just sign your proxy card without providing further instructions, your shares will be counted as a “for” vote for all of the Director Nominees, and “for” each of the other proposals being put before the stockholders at the Meeting.

Is my vote kept confidential?

Proxies, ballots and voting tabulations identifying stockholders are kept confidential and will not be disclosed except as may be necessary to meet legal requirements.

Where do I find the voting results of the Meeting?

We will announce voting results at the Meeting and file a Current Report on Form 8-K announcing the voting results of the Meeting within four business days of the Meeting.

Who can help answer my questions?

You can contact our corporate Secretary, Erin Henderson, at (513) 620-4101, or by sending a letter to Ms. Henderson at the offices of the Company at 201 E. Fifth Street, Suite 1900, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 with any questions about proposals described in this Proxy Statement or how to execute your vote.

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THE ANNUAL MEETING

General

This Proxy Statement is being furnished to you, as a stockholder of Blue Water Vaccines Inc., as part of the solicitation of proxies by our Board for use at the Meeting to be held on August 22, 2022, and any adjournment or postponement thereof. This Proxy Statement is first being furnished to stockholders on or about July 19, 2022. This Proxy Statement provides you with information you need to know to be able to vote or instruct your proxy how to vote at the Meeting.

Date, Time, Place of Meeting

The Meeting will be held on Monday, August 22, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, at the offices of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP located at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10105, United States of America, or such other date, time and place to which the Meeting may be adjourned or postponed.

Purpose of the Meeting

At the Meeting, the Company will ask stockholders to consider and vote upon the following proposals:

1. To elect each of the Director Nominees to serve on the Company’s Board for a three-year term that expires at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or until their successors are elected and qualified;

2. To approve the 2022 Plan Proposal;

3. To ratify the appointment by the Board of the Auditor as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022; and

4. To transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.

Recommendations of the Board

After careful consideration of each nominee for director, the Board has unanimously determined to recommend that stockholders vote “FOR” each of the Director Nominees, “FOR” the 2022 Plan Proposal, and “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of the Auditor as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.

Record Date and Voting Power

Our Board fixed the close of business on July 11, 2022 as the record date for the determination of the outstanding shares of Common Stock entitled to notice of, and to vote on, the matters presented at the Meeting. As of the Record Date, there were 12,299,399 shares of Common Stock outstanding. Each share of Common Stock entitles the holder thereof to one vote. Accordingly, a total of 12,299,399 votes may be cast at the Meeting.

Quorum and Required Vote

A quorum of stockholders is necessary to hold a valid meeting. A quorum will be present at the meeting if a majority of the Common Stock outstanding and entitled to vote at the Meeting is represented in person or by proxy. Abstentions, votes marked “withheld” and broker non-votes will count as present for purposes of establishing a quorum.

In the election of directors, the two persons receiving the highest number of affirmative votes cast at the Meeting will be elected. Only shares that are voted in favor of a particular nominee will be counted toward that nominee’s achievement of a plurality. Shares present at the Meeting that are not voted for a particular nominee or shares present by proxy where the stockholder properly withheld authority to vote for such nominee will not be counted toward that nominee’s achievement of a plurality.

The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at the Meeting is required to approve the 2022 Plan Proposal. With respect to an abstention, the shares will be considered present and entitled to vote at the Meeting, but they will have no effect on the vote of this proposal.

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The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at the Meeting is required to ratify the Auditor as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Abstentions will have no effect on the ratification of the appointment of the Auditor. Brokers may use their discretion to vote shares held by them of record for this proposal if they have not been provided with voting instructions from the beneficial owner of the shares of Common Stock.

Voting

There are two ways to vote:

(1) In person. If you are a stockholder of record, you may vote in person at the Meeting. The Company will give you a ballot when you arrive. If you are a beneficial owner of shares of Common Stock held in street name and you wish to vote in person at the Meeting, you must obtain a legal proxy from the brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer or other similar organization that holds your shares. Please contact that organization for instructions regarding obtaining a legal proxy.

(2) By Mail. You may vote by mail. If you requested printed copies of the proxy materials by mail and are a record holder, you may vote by proxy by filling out the proxy card and sending it back in the envelope provided. If you requested printed copies of the proxy materials by mail and are a beneficial holder you may vote by proxy by filling out the vote instruction form and sending it back in the envelope provided by your brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer or other similar organization that holds your shares.

While we know of no other matters to be acted upon at the Meeting, it is possible that other matters may be presented at the Meeting. If that happens and you have signed and not revoked a proxy card, your proxy will vote on such other matters in accordance with his best judgment.

A special note for those who plan to attend the Meeting and vote in person: if your shares are held in the name of a broker, bank or other nominee, you must bring a statement from your brokerage account or a letter from the person or entity in whose name the shares are registered indicating that you are the beneficial owner of those shares as of the record date. In addition, you will not be able to vote at the Meeting unless you obtain a legal proxy from the record holder of your shares.

Expenses

All costs of solicitation of proxies will be borne by the Company. In addition to these mailed proxy materials, our directors and officers may also solicit proxies in person, by telephone or by other means of communication. These parties will not be paid any additional compensation for soliciting proxies. We may also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other agents for the cost of forwarding proxy materials to beneficial owners.

Revocability of Proxies

Proxies given by stockholders of record for use at the Meeting may be revoked at any time prior to the exercise of the powers conferred. In addition to revocation in any other manner permitted by law, stockholders of record giving a proxy may revoke the proxy by an instrument in writing, executed by the stockholder or his attorney authorized in writing or, if the stockholder is a corporation, under its corporate seal, by an officer or attorney thereof duly authorized, and deposited either at the corporate headquarters of the Company at any time up to and including the last business day preceding the day of the Meeting, or any adjournments thereof, at which the proxy is to be used, or with the chairman of such Meeting on the day of the Meeting or adjournments thereof, and upon either of such deposits the proxy is revoked.

No Right of Appraisal

None of Delaware law, our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, or our Amended and Restated Bylaws, provides for appraisal or other similar rights for dissenting stockholders in connection with any of the proposals to be voted upon at this Meeting. Accordingly, our stockholders will have no right to dissent and obtain payment for their shares.

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Who Can Answer Your Questions About Voting Your Shares

You can contact our corporate Secretary, Erin Henderson, at (513) 620-410, or by sending a letter to Ms. Henderson at the offices of the Company at 201 E. Fifth Street, Suite 1900, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 with any questions about proposals described in this Proxy Statement or how to execute your vote.

Principal Offices

The principal executive offices of the Company are located at 201 E. Fifth Street, Suite 1900, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. The Company’s telephone number is (513) 620-4101.

ALL PROXIES RECEIVED WILL BE VOTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CHOICES SPECIFIED ON SUCH PROXIES. PROXIES WILL BE VOTED IN FAVOR OF A PROPOSAL IF NO CONTRARY SPECIFICATION IS MADE. ALL VALID PROXIES OBTAINED WILL BE VOTED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE PERSONS NAMED IN THE PROXY WITH RESPECT TO ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE MEETING. THE BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION OF EACH OF THE DIRECTOR NOMINEES, “FOR” the approval OF THE 2022 PLAN PROPOSAL, AND “FOR” THE RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE AUDITOR as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2022.

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PROPOSAL 1
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Introduction

On June 25, 2022 and July 8, 2022, respectively the Board (i) nominated Mr. Michael Venerable for reelection and (ii) nominated Mr. Simon Tarsh as a director of the Company to fill the vacancy left by Mr. Allan Shaw, who is not standing for reelection . Accordingly, the Board has authorized the nomination of Mr. Simon Tarsh and Mr. Michael Venerable to serve as Class I directors, each to hold office until the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders or until his or her successor is elected and qualified. The enclosed proxy, if returned, and unless indicated to the contrary, will be voted for the election of each of the Director Nominees.

We have been advised by each of the Director Nominees that he or she is willing to be named as a nominee and each is willing to serve, or continue to serve as a director if elected. If some unexpected occurrence should make necessary, in the discretion of the Board, the substitution of some other person for the nominees, it is the intention of the persons named in the proxy to vote for the election of such other persons as may be designated by the Board.

Subsequent to stockholder approval of this proposal, the Board will have a total of five members, divided into three classes as follows:

Class	Term	Directors
Class I	Class I directors serve for a term of three years, and are elected by the stockholders at the beginning of each term. The next full 3-year term for Class I directors extends from the date of the this year’s Annual Meeting to the date of the 2025 annual meeting.	Simon Tarsh Michael Venerable
Class II	Initial term ends on the date of the Annual Meeting of Stockholders in 2023. Class II directors serve for a term of three years, and are elected by the stockholders at the beginning of each term. The next full 3-year term for Class II directors extends from the date of the Annual Meeting of stockholders in 2023 to the date of the 2026 annual meeting.	James Sapirstein
Class III	Initial term ends on the date of the Annual Meeting of Stockholders in 2024. Class III directors serve for a term of three years, and are elected by the stockholders at the beginning of each term. The next full 3-year term for Class III directors extends from the date of the 2024 annual meeting to the date of the 2027annual meeting.	Joseph Hernandez Kimberly Murphy

Board Qualifications

We believe that the collective skills, experiences and qualifications of our directors provide our Board with the expertise and experience necessary to advance the interests of our stockholders. In selecting directors, the Board considers candidates that possess qualifications and expertise that will enhance the composition of the Board, including the considerations set forth below. The considerations set forth below are not meant as minimum qualifications, but rather as guidelines in weighing all of a candidate’s qualifications and expertise. In addition to the individual attributes of each of our current directors described below, we believe that our directors should have the highest professional and personal ethics and values, consistent with our longstanding values and standards. They should have broad experience at the policy-making level in business, exhibit commitment to enhancing stockholder value and have sufficient time to carry out their duties and to provide insight and practical wisdom based on their past experience.

Director Nominees

Our Board currently consists of five directors, Joseph Hernandez, Allan Shaw, Michael Venerable, Kimberly Murphy and James Sapirstein. At the Meeting, two Class I directors are to be elected (Michael Venerable and Simon Tarsh), one of whom has served as our director previously, each to serve until the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until his or her successor shall be elected and shall qualify. Specifically, Michael Venerable has been nominated for reelection to the Board and Simon Tarsh is being nominated to the Board for the first time. All

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of the Director Nominees are available for election as members of the Board. If for any reason a Director Nominee becomes unavailable for election, the proxies solicited by the Board will be voted for a substitute nominee selected by the Board.

The following sets forth the biographical background information for our Director Nominees:

Michael Venerable has been one of Blue Water Vaccines Inc.’s directors since April 2020. As CEO and managing director of CincyTech, Mike Venerable leads with experience from both sides of the table: as a software industry entrepreneur and executive, and a seasoned investment and venture capital professional. Mike joined CincyTech in 2006, helping to raise its inaugural fund. He served as managing director for a decade, evaluating investment opportunities, advising startup companies, and helping to build a network of investors and strategic partners and raise CincyTech Funds II- IV. Previously, Mike was co-founder and CEO of Talus, a leading data warehouse consultancy, which was acquired by Sagent Technology. Mike led the company’s services organization through the company’s successful IPO in 1999. He has specific experience in raising angel and venture capital, software business design and operation, software product management, business valuation, financial analysis and intellectual property. As an industry practitioner, Mike is an expert on data warehouse design, business intelligence and analytic applications and software development processes. He has consulted on strategic product development initiatives for leading technology companies, including Siebel, Advent and Micros. Mike served in the US Army as a Korean linguist after graduating from the University of Dayton.

Simon Tarsh has more than 40 years of financial experience, working in both the UK and the USA. He has recently retired from Deloitte Consulting LLP, where he was a Senior Managing Director in the Finance and Enterprise Performance Practice, where he had served global clients since 2007. He led a growing global practice focused around Operational Transformation, including supporting Carve Out transactions, joint ventures and hybrid structures, both in the US and in international locations, such as India, China, Eastern Europe and Latin America. He supported high growth companies with their finance operations as they globalized, and was able to advise them on their expansion, while balancing growth with appropriate controls. Prior to moving to the United States in 2007, Mr. Tarsh’s consulting career began with PA Consulting Group, London in 1988, where he was elected as a Partner in 1997, and he built ISG’s business process outsourcing advisory practice in Europe between 2001 and 2006. Mr. Tarsh’s early career was in finance, working with Marathon Oil and Dow Chemical, and during this period, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Mr. Tarsh received a Bachelor of Science undergraduate degree in Business and Administration from the University of Salford, Manchester, UK in 1981, and an MBA from City University Business School, London, UK in 1988. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (1984), which is considered as a CPA equivalent.

We believe that all of our directors and nominees: display personal and professional integrity; satisfactory levels of education and/or business experience; broad-based business acumen; an appropriate level of understanding of our business and its industry and other industries relevant to our business; the ability and willingness to devote adequate time to the work of our Board and its committees; skills and personality that complement those of our other directors that helps build a board that is effective, collegial and responsive to the needs of our company; strategic thinking and a willingness to share ideas; a diversity of experiences, expertise and background; and the ability to represent the interests of all of our stockholders. The information presented below regarding each Director Nominee and continuing director also sets forth specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that led our Board to the conclusion that such individual should serve as a director in light of our business and structure.

Mr. Venerable is an experienced investor and executive. As CEO and managing director of CincyTech, Mr. Venerable leads with experience from both sides of the table: as a software industry entrepreneur and executive, and a seasoned investment and venture capital professional.

Mr. Tarsh has more than 40 years of financial experience, working in both the UK and the USA, including being Senior Managing Director in the Finance and Enterprise Performance Practice at Deloitte Consulting LLP, leading a growing global practice focused around Operational Transformation, including supporting Carve Out transactions, joint ventures and hybrid structures, both in the US and in international locations, such as India, China, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

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Vote Required

In the election of directors, the two persons receiving the highest number of affirmative votes cast at the Meeting will be elected.

Recommendation of the Board

THE BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” ELECTION OF EACH OF THE NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR.

Current Directors and Executive Officers as of the Date of this Proxy Statement

Listed below are the names of the current directors, director nominees and executive officers of the Company, their ages and positions held as of the Record Date and biographies if not disclosed above:

Name	Age	Position with the Company	Director and/or Executive Officer Since
Joseph Hernandez	49	Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer	2018
Jon Garfield	58	Chief Financial Officer	2021
Erin Henderson	48	Chief Business Officer and Corporate Secretary	2020
Allan Shaw	58	Director	2020
Kimberly Murphy	59	Director	2020
Michael Venerable	59	Director	2020
James Sapirstein	60	Director	2022
Simon Tarsh	61	Director Nominee	N/A

Joseph Hernandez founded Blue Water Vaccines, Inc. in October 2018 and has been the Chief Executive Officer & Executive Chairman of the Company since inception. He has a background in company creation, early stage technology development, as well as private and public market financing. He brings leadership to the team, backed by a strong educational foundation in biology, medicine, molecular genetics, microbiology, epidemiology, marketing, and finance. Over the course of his career, he has founded or led eight entrepreneurial companies in cutting edge areas of healthcare and pharmaceuticals. After years of building his career at Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) from December 1998 to January 2001 and Digene from 2005 to 2009 (acquired by Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN)) from 2005 to 2009, Mr. Hernandez founded and became the President and CEO of Innovative Biosensors from 2004 to 2009. Later, Mr. Hernandez served as the Founder and Chairman of Microlin Bio Inc. from August 2013 to January 2017 and as Chairman of the Board of Ember Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:EMBT) from April 2014 to January 2019. He was also the Chairman of Sydys Corporation from May 2016 to January 2019. In 2018, Mr. Hernandez founded Blue Water Vaccines, an early stage biotechnology company focused on manufacturing a universal influenza vaccine in partnership with the University of Oxford in England. He has served as Chairman of Blue Water Vaccines, Inc. since 2019. Most recently, in January 2020, he founded and in May 2020 sold Noachis Terra, Inc. (acquired by Oragenics (NYSE:OGEN)) a company developing a vaccine for COVID-19. From May, 2020 to September 2021, Mr. Hernandez was also the chairman and chief executive officer of Blue Water Acquisition Corp. (“BWAC”), a special purpose acquisition company which completed its initial public offering in December 2020. On September 9, 2021, Blue Water Acquisition Corp. consummated a business combination with Clarus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:CRXT) (“Clarus”). Mr. Hernandez currently serves as a director of the post-combination entity, Clarus, where he serves as a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. He completed his undergraduate studies in Neuroscience, M.Sc. in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, M.B.A. all at the University of Florida and is completing his M.Sc. in Chronic Disease Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Yale University.

Jon Garfield served as our interim Chief Financial Officer since September 2021 until the consummation of our initial public offering, February 2022, upon which he became our full-time Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Garfield has over 20 years of financial leadership experience, including with healthcare companies. Mr. Garfield regularly provides consulting services to private equity funds and privately held companies. Mr. Garfield has served as the CEO

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of Unity MSK since February 2021. He has served as a consultant of Bay State Physical Therapy from June 2018 to February 2019 and also as a director beginning in February 2019. From 2016 to 2017, Mr. Garfield was the CFO of Pyramid Healthcare, also a private equity based healthcare company. Prior to Pyramid Healthcare, Mr. Garfield joined Monte Nido as CFO in 2012 until 2016. Before Monte Nido, he served as CFO of Clearant, Inc., a publicly-traded medical device company, and Network IP and Simplified Development, where he oversaw the finance and treasury functions, implemented systems upgrades, and pursued a number of growth initiatives. Mr. Garfield was previously a Co-Founder and Vice President of Acquisitions for Coach USA, a consolidator of ground transportation entities throughout North America, and was heavily involved in over 50 acquisitions and the eventual IPO of the company. Earlier in his career, he held positions with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Andersen. Mr. Garfield was the Chief Financial Officer of BWAC from December 2020 until it completed a business combination with Clarus in September 2021. Mr. Garfield received a B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Texas.

Erin Henderson has been the Chief Business Officer for Blue Water Vaccines, Inc. since September 2020 and has extensive experience in program and project management, business operational management, marketing, fundraising and public-private partnership development and implementation. She joined the company in September 2019. Prior to joining Blue Water Vaccines, since 2010, Ms. Henderson was the Founder and Managing Principal at The Aetos Group, a management consulting company working with public, private, governmental and non-governmental organizations focused on operational efficiency, Lean Six Sigma implementation, revenue development strategy and real estate acquisition strategy. Erin began her career at Lockwood Greene Engineers, followed by The Facility Group. She led local, state and federal governmental relations for the University of West Georgia and was responsible for identifying and securing financial support from both the public and private sector. Erin completed her undergraduate studies in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University. Erin serves on the Board of the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Danscompany of Gainesville.

Allan Shaw, one of our directors since January 2020, brings more than two decades of public company financial, operational, and strategic global business leadership. Mr. Shaw is a highly regarded biopharma executive and board member with extensive senior global strategic, financial, M&A, operational, capital markets and governance experience. Mr. Shaw’s notable accomplishments include raising more than $4 billion in public/private financings (including 2 IPOs), scaling a company from $20 million to $750 million in revenue as well as being involved with the sourcing/development/commercialization of various drug products in numerous therapeutic areas. Mr. Shaw is currently involved with a portfolio of healthcare activities, including serving as chief financial officer of Portage Biotech Inc. (Nasdaq: PRTG) since May 2020. Mr. Shaw is the founder and since 2005, has served as senior managing director, of Shaw Strategic Capital LLC, an international financial advisory firm focused on providing strategic financial counsel on a wide variety of issues such as general corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, capital structuring, licensing and capital markets, and serving as financial consultant to private and public companies. Mr. Shaw was the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from January 2016 to February 2017 and from December 2011 to September 2015, was Managing Director of Alvarez & Marsal LLC, a global professional services firm, where he led their biopharmaceutical consulting practice. Mr. Shaw has served on five public boards including chairing two audit committees, two compensation committees, and is currently involved with a portfolio of healthcare-related business endeavors. Mr. Shaw served as the Chief Financial Officer of Serono S.A. from November 2002 to May 2004; NewLead Holdings Ltd from October 2009 to July 2011; and Viatel, Inc. from November 1994 to June 2002. He currently serves on the board of directors of Edith & Carl Marks JCH of Bensonhurst, a non-profit organization, and chairs their finance committee. Mr. Shaw is a certified public accountant in the State of New York as well as a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). Mr. Shaw received a B.S. from the State University of New York at Oswego College.

Kimberly Murphy, one of our directors since January 2020, has more than 25 years of experience at leading pharmaceutical companies including Novartis (NYSE: NVS) and Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK). Ms. Murphy was appointed President and CEO of Oragenics (NYSE: OGEN) in June 2022 and has been a member of their Board of Directors since May 2020. In her distinguished career at Merck, she rose through various public affairs and business roles to leadership positions as Region Marketer for U.S. Commercial Operations, U.S. Marketing Leader for Adult Vaccines and Director of the HPV/Gardasil Franchise. From 2016 through 2019, Ms. Murphy served as the Vice President of Global Vaccines Commercialization Leader, Influenza Franchise, at GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK). Ms. Murphy has been with GSK since 2011, initially serving as VP of US Vaccines Customer Strategy from October 2012 to June 2014, then VP of the North America Vaccines Integration Planning from June 2014 to

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May 2015, followed by VP and Global Marketing Head for the Shingles Vaccines from May 2015 to February 2016, before transitioning to the Global Vaccines Commercialization Leader for the Influenza Franchise. Kim has Board and Advisory experience that includes serving on the boards of Oragenics, Inc. (NYSE: OGEN) as well as the GSK Representative to the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s Biodefense Advisory Council, and on the St. Joseph’s University Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Marketing MBA Program’s Advisory Board. Additionally, Ms. Murphy was a director of BWAC from December 2020 to September 2021, and since BWAC’s business combination with Clarus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:CRXT), has continued to serve as chair of the post-combination entity’s board of directors, and also she serves as a member of the Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. Ms. Murphy received a B.A. in English from Old Dominion University, a M.B.A. in Marketing from St. Joseph’s University, and the Marketing Excellence Program from the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania.

James Sapirstein, one of our directors since February 2022, has over 35 years of experience leading, founding, growing, and selling healthcare companies, specifically in the pharmaceutical space. Mr. Sapirstein is currently the President, CEO and Chairman of First Wave BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: FWBI), where he has been since October 2019. His career began in sales at Eli Lilly, eventually rising to Director of International Marketing at Bristol Myers Squibb from July 1996 to June 2000, and later led the launch of Viread (tenofovir) at Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD), where he served as Global Marketing Lead from June 2020 to June 2002. From November 2006 to January 2011, he served as founding CEO of Tobira Therapeutics (Nasdaq: TBRA), then a private company, and later acquired by Allergan (NYSE: AGN). Since then, he has served as CEO of Alliqua Biomedical (Nasdaq: ALQA) from September 2012 to February 2014 and CEO of Contravir Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CTRV from March 2014 to October 2018. He has been part of almost two dozen drug product launches and specifically either led or has been a key member of several HIV product launches into different new classes of therapeutics at the time. Additionally, Mr. Sapirstein holds board positions on Marizyme (OTCMKTS:MRZM) (Executive Chairman) since December 2018 Enochian Biosciences (Nasdaq: ENOB) since April 2018 and Leading Biosciences since March 2016. He previously served as a director of BioNJ from February 2017 to February 2019, an association of biopharma industries in New Jersey, from February 2017 to February 2019, RespireRX (OTCBB:RSPI) from April 2014 to January 2020, NanoViricides Inc. (NYSE: NNVC) from November 2018 to January 2020 and BWAC from December 2020 until its business combination with Clarus in September 2021. He is also a Board Director for BIO, the leading Biopharma Industries Organization promoting public policy and networking in the healthcare space, where he sits on both the Health Section and Emerging Companies Section Governing Boards. Mr. Sapirstein received a B.S. in Pharmacy from Rutgers University and his MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Except for Mr. Hernandez, Ms. Murphy and Mr. Sapirstein, none of our current directors, Director Nominees or executive officers has served as a director of another public company within the past five years.

To the best of the Company’s knowledge, there are no arrangements or understandings between any director, Director Nominee or executive officer and any other person pursuant to which any person was selected as a director, Director Nominee or executive officer. There are no family relationships between any of the Company’s directors, Director Nominees or executive officers. To the Company’s knowledge there have been no material legal proceedings as described in instruction 4 to Item 103 of Regulation S-K or Item 401(f) of Regulation S-K during the last ten years that are material to an evaluation of the ability or integrity of any of the Company’s directors, Director Nominees or executive officers.

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance

General

Our business and affairs are organized under the direction of our Board, which currently consists of five members. Our Board is divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms. Our directors are divided among the three classes as follows:

• the Class I directors are Allan Shaw and Mike Venerable, and their terms will expire at the Meeting;

• the Class II director is James Sapirstein, and his term will expire at our 2023 annual meeting of stockholders; and

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• the Class III directors are Joseph Hernandez and Kimberly Murphy, and their terms will expire at our 2024 annual meeting of stockholders.

Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and our Amended and Restated Bylaws provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the Board. Our directors hold office until the earlier of their death, resignation, removal or disqualification, or until their successors have been elected and qualified. Our board of directors does not have a formal policy on whether the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our Board should be separate. The primary responsibilities of our Board are to provide oversight, strategic guidance, counselling and direction to our management.

We have no formal policy regarding board diversity. Our priority in selection of board members is identification of members who will further the interests of our stockholders through his or her established record of professional accomplishment, the ability to contribute positively to the collaborative culture among board members, knowledge of our business and understanding of the competitive landscape.

Director Independence

The Board has evaluated each of its directors’ independence from the Company based on the definition of “independence” established by Nasdaq and has determined that Ms. Murphy, Mr. Shaw and Mr. Sapirstein are independent directors, constituting a majority of the Board. The Board of Directors has evaluated Mr. Tarsh’s independence and has determined that Mr. Tarsh, if elected, would be an independent director. The Board has further determined that each member of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance Committee is “independent” under applicable Nasdaq rules.

The Board has also determined that each member of our audit committee is “independent” for purposes of Section 10A(m)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”).

In its evaluation of each director’s or nominee’s independence from the Company, the Board reviewed whether any transactions or relationships currently exist or existed during the past year between each director or Director Nominee and the Company and its subsidiaries, affiliates, equity investors, or independent registered public accounting firm, and whether there were any transactions or relationships between each director or nominee and members of the senior management of the Company or their affiliates.

Committees of the Board

Our Board has established three standing committees — audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance — each of which operates under a charter that has been adopted by our Board. Copies of each committee’s charter are posted on the Investor Relations section of our website, which is located at https://ir.bluewatervaccines.com/corporate-governance/governance-overview. Each committee has the composition and responsibilities described below. Our Board may from time to time establish other committees.

Audit Committee

Our audit committee (“Audit Committee”) consists of Allan Shaw, who is the chair of the committee, Kimberly Murphy and James Sapirstein. Our Board has determined that each of the members of our audit committee satisfies the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules and SEC independence requirements. The functions of this committee include, among other things:

• evaluating the performance, independence and qualifications of our independent auditors and determining whether to retain our existing independent auditors or engage new independent auditors;

• reviewing and approving the engagement of our independent auditors to perform audit services and any permissible non-audit services;

• reviewing our annual and quarterly financial statements and reports, including the disclosures contained under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and discussing the statements and reports with our independent auditors and management;

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• reviewing with our independent auditors and management significant issues that arise regarding accounting principles and financial statement presentation and matters concerning the scope, adequacy and effectiveness of our financial controls;

• reviewing our major financial risk exposures, including the guidelines and policies to govern the process by which risk assessment and risk management is implemented; and

• reviewing and evaluating on an annual basis the performance of the audit committee, including compliance of the audit committee with its charter.

The Board has determined that Allan Shaw qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” within the meaning of applicable SEC regulations and meets the financial sophistication requirements of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. If nominated, Mr. Simon Tarsh will replace Mr. Shaw on the Audit Committee. Our Board has determined that Allan Shaw qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” within the meaning of applicable SEC regulations and meets the financial sophistication requirements of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. In making this determination, the Board has considered Mr. Tarsh’s extensive financial experience and business background. Both our independent registered public accounting firm and management periodically meet privately with our Audit Committee.

Audit Committee Report

The Audit Committee operates pursuant to a charter which will be reviewed annually by the Audit Committee. Additionally, a brief description of the primary responsibilities of the Audit Committee is included in this Proxy Statement under the discussion of “— Audit Committee.” Under the Audit Committee charter, management is responsible for the preparation, presentation and integrity of the Company’s financial statements, the application of accounting and financial reporting principles and our internal controls and procedures designed to assure compliance with accounting standards and applicable laws and regulations. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing our financial statements and expressing an opinion as to their conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

In the performance of its oversight function, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed with management and Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C., as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, the Company’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. The Audit Committee also discussed with the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm the matters required to be discussed by applicable standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) and the SEC. In addition, the Audit Committee received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letters from the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding such independent registered public accounting firm’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and discussed with the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm their independence from the Company.

Based upon the review and discussions described in the preceding paragraph, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board that the Company’s audited financial statements be included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC.

Submitted by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors:

Allan L. Shaw (Chair)

Kimberly Murphy

James Sapirstein

Compensation Committee

Our compensation committee (“Compensation Committee”) consists of James Sapirstein, who is the chair of the committee, Kimberly Murphy and Allan Shaw. If nominated, Mr. Tarsh will replace Mr. Shaw, who is not standing for reelection, on the Compensation Committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of the

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members of our Compensation Committee is an outside director, as defined pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, and satisfies the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules independence requirements. The functions of this committee include, among other things:

• reviewing, modifying and approving (or if it deems appropriate, making recommendations to the full board of directors regarding) our overall compensation strategy and policies;

• reviewing and approving the compensation, the performance goals and objectives relevant to the compensation, and other terms of employment of our executive officers;

• reviewing and approving (or if it deems appropriate, making recommendations to the full board of directors regarding) the equity incentive plans, compensation plans and similar programs advisable for us, as well as modifying, amending or terminating existing plans and programs;

• reviewing and approving the terms of any employment agreements, severance arrangements, change in control protections and any other compensatory arrangements for our executive officers;

• reviewing with management and approving our disclosures under the caption “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” in our periodic reports or proxy statements to be filed with the SEC; and

• preparing the report that the SEC requires in our annual proxy statement.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our nominating and corporate governance committee (“Nominating Committee”) consists of Kimberly Murphy, who is the chair of the committee, Allan Shaw and James Sapirstein. If nominated, Mr. Tarsh will replace Mr. Shaw, who is not standing for reelection, on the Nominating Committee. Our Board has determined that each of the members of this committee satisfies the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules independence requirements. The functions of this committee include, among other things:

• identifying, reviewing and evaluating candidates to serve on our board of directors consistent with criteria approved by our board of directors;

• evaluating director performance on the board and applicable committees of the board and determining whether continued service on our board is appropriate;

• evaluating, nominating and recommending individuals for membership on our board of directors; and

• evaluating nominations by stockholders of candidates for election to our board of directors.

Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight

Our Board is free to select the Chairman of the board of directors and the Chief Executive Officer in a manner that it considers to be in the best interests of our company at the time of selection. Currently, Mr. Joseph Hernandez serves as our Chief Executive Officer and executive chairman. Three of our five members of our Board (Ms. Murphy, Mr. Sapirstein and Mr. Shaw), and Mr. Tarsh, have been deemed to be “independent” under Nasdaq standards by the Board, which we believe provides sufficient independent oversight of our management.

Our Board as a whole and also at the committee level, plays an active role overseeing the overall management of our risks. Our Audit Committee reviews risks related to financial and operational items with our management and our independent registered public accounting firm. Our Board is in regular contact with our Chief Executive Officer, who reports directly to the board of directors and who supervise day-to-day risk management.

We face a number of risks, as described in our filings with the SEC. Our Board believes that risk management is an important part of establishing, updating and executing on our business strategy. Our Board has oversight responsibility relating to risks that could affect the corporate strategy, business objectives, compliance, operations, and the financial condition and performance of our company. Our Board focuses its oversight on the most significant risks facing us and on our processes to identify, prioritize, assess, manage and mitigate those risks. Our Board receives regular reports from members of our senior management on areas of material risk to us, including strategic,

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operational, financial, legal and regulatory risks. While our Board has an oversight role, management is principally tasked with direct responsibility for management and assessment of risks and the implementation of processes and controls to mitigate their effects on us.

Attendance

There were four meetings, exclusive of action by unanimous written consent, of the Board held during fiscal year 2021. Mr. John Price, who resigned from our board effective February 24, 2022, Mr. Hernandez, Ms. Murphy and Mr. Shaw attended all of the aggregate number of meetings of the Board that they were eligible to attend during fiscal year 2021. Mr. Sapirstein joined our board in February 2022, and as such was not eligible to attended any of the Board’s meetings in fiscal year 2021. None of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee or the Nominating Committee had been established in the fiscal year 2021, and as such, no meetings of such committees took place.

We did not hold a 2021 annual meeting of stockholders. We do not have a formal policy regarding the attendance of our Board members at our annual meetings of stockholders, but we expect all directors to make every effort to attend any meeting of stockholders.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a formal code of ethics that applies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions. We will provide a copy of our code of ethics to any person without charge, upon request. For a copy of our code of ethics write to Secretary, Blue Water Vaccines Inc., 201 E. Fifth Street, Suite 1900, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. A current copy of our code of ethics is also available on our website at https://ir.bluewatervaccines.com/corporate-governance/governance-overview.

Transactions with Related Persons

Aside from compensation arrangements with executive officers described below, there are no other transactions entered into by the Company with related persons.

Related Person Transaction Approval Policy

The following is a description of transactions since January 1, 2020 to which we were a party in which (i) the amount involved exceeded or will exceed the lesser of $120,000 of one percent (1%) of our average total assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years and (ii) any of our directors, executive officers or holders of more than 5% of our capital stock, or any member of the immediate family of, or person sharing the household with, any of the foregoing persons, who had or will have a direct or indirect material interest, other than equity and other compensation, termination, change in control and other similar arrangements, which are described under “Executive and Director Compensation.”

Agreement with Blue Water Real Estate Holdings

We leased office space in November 28, 2018 from an affiliate of our chief executive officer, Blue Water Real Estate Holdings, Inc. Rental expense recorded for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2021 was approximately $66,000, and $26,000, respectively. This lease was terminated on March 31, 2021; however, the company did not vacate the premises until May 26, 2021. As of this proxy statement, we have no outstanding obligations under this agreement.

Consulting Agreement with Joseph Hernandez

On October 22, 2018, we entered into a Consulting Agreement with Joseph Hernandez, the Chief Executive Officer of Blue Water Vaccines Inc. Consulting expense recorded for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, was $420,000. Pursuant to the Consulting Agreement, Joseph Hernandez provides us with consulting services, and we are required to pay him an aggregate amount of $1.68 million during the term of the agreement, in monthly payments of $35,000. The Consulting Agreement was to be effective through November 1, 2022 and cancellable

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by either party with 90 days written notice. As of December 31, 2021, we had prepaid $140,000 on this Consulting Agreement and the remaining monthly payments through the end of the contract term total $210,000. The Consulting Agreement became null and void upon the consummation of our initial public offering.

All future transactions between us and our officers, directors or five percent stockholders, and respective affiliates will be on terms no less favorable than could be obtained from unaffiliated third parties and will be approved by a majority of our independent directors who do not have an interest in the transactions and who had access, at our expense, to our legal counsel or independent legal counsel.

To the best of our knowledge, during the past two fiscal years, other than as set forth above, there were no material transactions, or series of similar transactions, or any currently proposed transactions, or series of similar transactions, to which we were or are to be a party, in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000, and in which any director or executive officer, or any security holder who is known by us to own of record or beneficially more than 5% of any class of our common stock, or any member of the immediate family of any of the foregoing persons, has an interest (other than compensation to our officers and directors in the ordinary course of business).

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth total compensation paid to our named executive officers for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. Individuals we refer to as our “named executive officers” include our Chief Executive Officer and our one additional most highly compensated executive officer whose salary and bonus for services rendered in all capacities exceeded $100,000 during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

Name and Principal Position	Year	Salary ($)	Bonus ($)	Option Awards ($)(1)	Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($)	Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings ($)	All Other Compensation ($)	Total ($)
Joseph Hernandez	2021	420,000	210,000	—	—	—	—	630,000
Chief Executive Officer	2020	420,000	—	—	—	—	—	420,000
Erin Henderson	2021	120,000	51,173	—	—	—	—	171,173
Chief Business Officer and Corporate Secretary	2020	80,849	—	31,535	—	—	—	112,384

____________

(1) This figure represents the aggregate grant date fair value of stock options granted in the fiscal year, computed in accordance with the provisions of FASB ASC 718. Assumptions used in the calculation of these amounts are included in the notes to our financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. As required by SEC rules, the amounts shown exclude the impact of estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions.

Employment Agreements of Executive Officers

We have entered into various employment agreements with certain of our executive officers. Set forth below is a summary of many of the material provisions of such agreements, which summaries do not purport to contain all of the material terms and conditions of each such agreement.

Joseph Hernandez

Effective upon the closing of our initial public offering, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Hernandez, pursuant to which he is employed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, which superseded Mr. Hernandez’s prior consulting agreement with the Company. The employment agreement provides for an annual base salary, subject to annual increases in the discretion of our compensation committee, the Company, and an annual performance bonus. Pursuant to the employment agreement, following the completion of our initial public offering, Mr. Hernandez’s base salary is $595,000. The annual performance bonus will be up to 50% of annual base salary (the “Target Annual Bonus”), with the actual bonus being based upon the level of achievement of annual Company and individual performance objectives for such fiscal year, as determined by our compensation committee.

In the event that Mr. Hernandez’s employment is terminated by the Company without cause (as defined in the employment agreement), or if Mr. Hernandez terminates his employment for “Good Reason” (as defined in the employment agreement), in addition to accrued unpaid salary, reimbursements and vacation days, he will be entitled to certain severance payments and benefits, including: (i) any unpaid annual bonus in respect of any completed fiscal year that has ended prior to the date of such termination; (ii) subject to certain conditions set forth in the employment agreement, an amount equal to (A) the Target Annual Bonus otherwise for the fiscal year in which such termination occurred, assuming Mr. Hernandez had remained employed through the applicable payment date, multiplied by (B) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days elapsed from the commencement of such fiscal year through the date of such termination and the denominator of which is 365 (or 366, as applicable); (iii) a payment equal to twelve (12) months of his base salary; and (iv) payment of an amount equal to the difference between the monthly COBRA premium cost and the monthly contribution paid by active employees for the same coverage for eighteen months following his termination. The employment agreement also provides that if a change in control (as defined in the employment agreement) occurs, and during the period commencing three months prior to a change in control and ending on the eighteen (18)-month anniversary of the change in control, Mr. Hernandez is terminated without cause or he resigns for good reason, Mr. Hernandez will be entitled to (i) any unpaid annual bonus in respect of any completed fiscal year that has ended prior to the date of such termination; (ii) subject to certain conditions set forth in the employment agreement, an amount equal to (A) the Target Annual Bonus otherwise for the fiscal year in which such termination occurred, assuming Mr. Hernandez had remained employed

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through the applicable payment date, multiplied by (B) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days elapsed from the commencement of such fiscal year through the date of such termination and the denominator of which is 365 (or 366, as applicable); (iii) severance of 18 months’ salary; and (iv) payment of an amount equal to the difference between the monthly COBRA premium cost and the monthly contribution paid by active employees for the same coverage for eighteen months following his termination. Additionally, any unvested portion of the equity awards held subject to time-vesting held by Mr. Hernandez will automatically vest.

The employment agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Ohio and contains non-solicitation and non-competition covenants (each of which remains in effect during the term of employment and for six months following termination of employment) and confidentiality, trade secrets and assignment of intellectual property clauses.

Pursuant to the non-solicitation and non-competition covenants, Mr. Hernandez has agreed to not directly or indirectly solicit any comparable business from a broad category of customers, request or advise customers to curtail, cancel, or withdraw its business from Blue Water Vaccines Inc., aid any other entity in obtaining business from customers that is comparable or similar to any products or services provided by Blue Water Vaccines or otherwise interfere with any transaction, agreement, business relationship, and/or business opportunity between Blue Water Vaccines and any customer or potential customer of the Company.

During the term of employment and for a period of six months after termination (“the Post-Termination Restricted Period”), Mr. Hernandez is prohibited from recruiting, encouraging, soliciting, or inducing, or in any manner attempting to recruit, encourage, solicit, or induce, any person employed by or engaged by Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries to terminate such Person’s employment or services (or in the case of a consultant, materially reducing such services) with Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries, hiring, or engaging any individual who was employed by or providing services to Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries within the six (6) month period prior to the date of such hiring or engagement, or encouraging, soliciting, or inducing, or in any manner attempting to encourage, solicit, or induce, any current or prospective client, customer, licensee, supplier, or other business relation of Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries, or any such relation that was a client, customer, licensee or other business relationship within the prior six (6) month period to cease doing business with or reduce the amount of business conducted with Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries, or in any way interfering with the relationship between any such party and Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Jon Garfield

Effective upon the closing of our initial public offering, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Garfield, pursuant to which he is employed as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The employment agreement provides for an annual base salary, subject to annual increases in the discretion of our compensation committee, the Company, and an annual performance bonus. Pursuant to the employment agreement, following the completion of our initial public offering, Mr. Garfield’s base salary is $435,000. The annual performance bonus will be up to 50% of annual base salary (the “Target Annual Bonus”), with the actual bonus being based upon the level of achievement of annual Company and individual performance objectives for such fiscal year, as determined by our compensation committee.

In the event that Mr. Garfield’s employment is terminated by the Company without cause (as defined in the employment agreement), or if Mr. Garfield terminates his employment for “Good Reason” (as defined in the employment agreement), in addition to accrued unpaid salary, reimbursements and vacation days, he will be entitled to certain severance payments and benefits, including: (i) any unpaid annual bonus in respect of any completed fiscal year that has ended prior to the date of such termination; (ii) subject to certain conditions set forth in the employment agreement, an amount equal to (A) the Target Annual Bonus otherwise for the fiscal year in which such termination occurred, assuming Mr. Garfield had remained employed through the applicable payment date, multiplied by (B) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days elapsed from the commencement of such fiscal year through the date of such termination and the denominator of which is 365 (or 366, as applicable); (iii) a payment equal to twelve (12) months of his base salary; and (iv) payment of an amount equal to the difference between the monthly COBRA premium cost and the monthly contribution paid by active employees for the same coverage for eighteen months following his termination. The employment agreement also provides that if a change in control (as defined in the employment agreement) occurs, and during the period commencing three months prior to a change in control and ending on the eighteen (18)-month anniversary of the change in control, Mr. Garfield is

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terminated without cause or he resigns for good reason, Mr. Garfield will be entitled to (i) any unpaid annual bonus in respect of any completed fiscal year that has ended prior to the date of such termination; (ii) subject to certain conditions set forth in the employment agreement, an amount equal to (A) the Target Annual Bonus otherwise for the fiscal year in which such termination occurred, assuming Mr. Garfield had remained employed through the applicable payment date, multiplied by (B) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days elapsed from the commencement of such fiscal year through the date of such termination and the denominator of which is 365 (or 366, as applicable); (iii) severance of 18 months’ salary; and (iv) payment of an amount equal to the difference between the monthly COBRA premium cost and the monthly contribution paid by active employees for the same coverage for eighteen months following his termination. Additionally, any unvested portion of the equity awards held subject to time-vesting held by Mr. Garfield will automatically vest.

Pursuant to the non-solicitation and non-competition covenants, Mr. Garfield has agreed to not directly or indirectly solicit any comparable business from a broad category of customers, request or advise customers to curtail, cancel, or withdraw its business from Blue Water Vaccines Inc., aid any other entity in obtaining business from customers that is comparable or similar to any products or services provided by Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or otherwise interfere with any transaction, agreement, business relationship, and/or business opportunity between Blue Water Vaccines Inc. and any customer or potential customer of the Company.

During the term of employment and for a period of six months after termination (“the Post-Termination Restricted Period”), Mr. Garfield is prohibited from recruiting, encouraging, soliciting, or inducing, or in any manner attempting to recruit, encourage, solicit, or induce, any person employed by or engaged by Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries to terminate such Person’s employment or services (or in the case of a consultant, materially reducing such services) with Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries, hiring, or engaging any individual who was employed by or providing services to Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries within the six (6) month period prior to the date of such hiring or engagement, or encouraging, soliciting, or inducing, or in any manner attempting to encourage, solicit, or induce, any current or prospective client, customer, licensee, supplier, or other business relation of Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries, or any such relation that was a client, customer, licensee or other business relationship within the prior six (6) month period to cease doing business with or reduce the amount of business conducted with Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries, or in any way interfering with the relationship between any such party and Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Erin Henderson

Effective upon the closing of our initial public offering, we entered into an employment agreement with Ms. Henderson, pursuant to which she is employed as the Chief Business Officer of the Company. The employment agreement provides for an annual base salary, subject to annual increases in the discretion of our compensation committee, the Company, and an annual performance bonus. Pursuant to the employment agreement, following the completion of our initial public offering, Ms. Henderson’s base salary is $325,000. The annual performance bonus will be up to 40% of annual base salary (the “Target Annual Bonus”), with the actual bonus being based upon the level of achievement of annual Company and individual performance objectives for such fiscal year, as determined by our compensation committee.

In the event that Ms. Henderson’s employment is terminated by the Company without cause (as defined in the employment agreement), or if Ms. Henderson’s terminates her employment for “Good Reason” (as defined in the employment agreement), in addition to accrued unpaid salary, reimbursements and vacation days, she will be entitled to certain severance payments and benefits, including: (i) any unpaid annual bonus in respect of any completed fiscal year that has ended prior to the date of such termination; (ii) subject to certain conditions set forth in the employment agreement, an amount equal to (A) the Target Annual Bonus otherwise for the fiscal year in which such termination occurred, assuming Ms. Henderson had remained employed through the applicable payment date, multiplied by (B) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days elapsed from the commencement of such fiscal year through the date of such termination and the denominator of which is 365 (or 366, as applicable); (iii) a payment equal to nine (9) months of her base salary; and (iv) payment of an amount equal to the difference between the monthly COBRA premium cost and the monthly contribution paid by active employees for the same

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coverage for eighteen months following her termination. The employment agreement also provides that if a change in control (as defined in the employment agreement) occurs, and during the period commencing three months prior to a change in control and ending on the eighteen (18)-month anniversary of the change in control, Ms. Henderson is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason, Ms. Henderson will be entitled to (i) any unpaid annual bonus in respect of any completed fiscal year that has ended prior to the date of such termination; (ii) subject to certain conditions set forth in the employment agreement, an amount equal to (A) the Target Annual Bonus otherwise for the fiscal year in which such termination occurred, assuming Ms. Henderson had remained employed through the applicable payment date, multiplied by (B) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days elapsed from the commencement of such fiscal year through the date of such termination and the denominator of which is 365 (or 366, as applicable); (iii) severance of 12 months’ salary; and (iv) payment of an amount equal to the difference between the monthly COBRA premium cost and the monthly contribution paid by active employees for the same coverage for nine months following her termination. Additionally, any unvested portion of the equity awards held subject to time-vesting held by Ms. Henderson will automatically vest.

Pursuant to the non-solicitation and non-competition covenants, Ms. Henderson has agreed to not directly or indirectly solicit any comparable business from a broad category of customers, request or advise customers to curtail, cancel, or withdraw its business from Blue Water Vaccines Inc., aid any other entity in obtaining business from customers that is comparable or similar to any products or services provided by Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or otherwise interfere with any transaction, agreement, business relationship, and/or business opportunity between Blue Water Vaccines Inc. and any customer or potential customer of the Company.

During the term of employment and for a period of six months after termination (“the Post-Termination Restricted Period”), Ms. Henderson is prohibited from recruiting, encouraging, soliciting, or inducing, or in any manner attempting to recruit, encourage, solicit, or induce, any person employed by or engaged by Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries to terminate such Person’s employment or services (or in the case of a consultant, materially reducing such services) with Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries, hiring, or engaging any individual who was employed by or providing services to Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries within the six (6) month period prior to the date of such hiring or engagement, or encouraging, soliciting, or inducing, or in any manner attempting to encourage, solicit, or induce, any current or prospective client, customer, licensee, supplier, or other business relation of Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries, or any such relation that was a client, customer, licensee or other business relationship within the prior six (6) month period to cease doing business with or reduce the amount of business conducted with Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries, or in any way interfering with the relationship between any such party and Blue Water Vaccines Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-in-Control

See “Employment Agreements of Executive Officers” above.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table summarizes the number of shares of common stock underlying outstanding equity incentive plan awards for each named executive officer as of December 31, 2021.

Name	Grant Date	Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable	Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Unexercisable	Option Exercise Price ($)	Option Expiration Date
Joseph Hernandez	—	—	—	—	—
Erin Henderson(1)	04/2/20	22,952	22,968	0.01	03/2/30

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(1) This option vests over 45 months from the vesting commencement date, with 1/4 vesting December 31, 2020, and the remainder vesting in 36 equal monthly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date.

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Stock Option Exercises

During the year ended December 31, 2021, no stock options were exercised by Named Executive Officers.

Stock Awards

There are currently no outstanding restricted stock awards.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table provides information as of December 31, 2021, regarding our common stock that may be issued under the Company’s 2019 equity incentive plan (the “2019 Plan”).

Plan category:	Number of Securities to be issued Upon Exercise of Outstanding Options, Warrants, and Rights (a)	Weighted Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Options (b)		Number of Securities Remaining Available for Future Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans (Excluding Securities Reflected in column (a)) (c)
Equity compensation plans approved by stockholders 2019 Plan(1)	780,640	$	0.01	619,360
Total	780,640	$	0.01	619,360

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(1) The 2019 Plan permits grants of equity awards to employees, directors, consultants and other independent contractors. Our board of directors and stockholders have approved a total reserve of 1,400,000 shares for issuance under the 2019 Plan.

2022 Equity Incentive Plan

Our board of directors adopted, and our stockholders approved, our 2022 Plan effective upon the completion of our initial public offering. Our 2022 Plan is a successor to and continuation of our 2019 Plan. Our 2022 Plan became effective on the date of the completion of our initial public offering. Once the 2022 Plan became effective, no further grants will be made under the 2019 Plan.

Awards. Our 2022 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, or ISOs, within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code, or the Code, to employees, including employees of any parent or subsidiary, and for the grant of nonstatutory stock options, or NSOs, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, restricted stock unit awards, performance awards and other forms of awards to employees, directors and consultants, including employees and consultants of our affiliates.

Authorized Shares. Initially, the maximum number of shares of our common stock that may be issued under our 2022 Plan will not exceed 1,600,000 shares of our common stock, which is the sum of (i) 200,000 new shares, plus (ii) an additional number of shares not to exceed 1,400,000, consisting of (A) shares that remain available for the issuance of awards under our 2019 Plan as of immediately prior to the time our 2022 Plan becomes effective and (B) shares of our common stock subject to outstanding stock options or other stock awards granted under our 2019 Plan that, on or after the 2022 Plan becomes effective, terminate or expire prior to exercise or settlement; are not issued because the award is settled in cash; are forfeited because of the failure to vest; or are reacquired or withheld (or not issued) to satisfy a tax withholding obligation or the purchase or exercise price, if any, as such shares become available from time to time. The number of shares of common stock available for issuance under our 2022 Plan will be reduced by: one share for each share of common stock issued pursuant to a stock option or stock appreciation right with respect to which the exercise or strike price is at least 100% of the Fair Market Value of the common stock subject to the stock option or appreciation right on the grant date; and (ii) 1.20 shares for each share of common stock issued pursuant to any restricted stock unit or other “full value award.” The maximum number of shares of our common stock that may be issued on the exercise of ISOs under our 2022 Plan is 250,000 shares. If the 2022 Plan

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Proposal is approved at the Meeting, the maximum number of shares of our common stock that may be issued on the exercise of ISOs under the 2022 Plan will be the number that is equal to the number of shares reserved under the 2022 Plan at any time.

Shares subject to stock awards granted under our 2022 Plan that expire or terminate without being exercised in full or that are paid out in cash rather than in shares do not reduce the number of shares available for issuance under our 2022 Plan. Shares withheld under a stock award to satisfy the exercise, strike or purchase price of a stock award or to satisfy a tax withholding obligation do not reduce the number of shares available for issuance under our 2022 Plan. If any shares of our common stock issued pursuant to a stock award are forfeited back to or repurchased or reacquired by us (i) because of a failure to meet a contingency or condition required for the vesting of such shares, (ii) to satisfy the exercise, strike or purchase price of an award or (iii) to satisfy a tax withholding obligation in connection with an award, the shares that are forfeited or repurchased or reacquired will revert to and again become available for issuance under the 2022 Plan. Any shares previously issued which are reacquired in satisfaction of tax withholding obligations or as consideration for the exercise or purchase price of a stock award will again become available for issuance under the 2022 Plan. The number of shares available for issuance under our 2022 Plan will increase by 1.20 shares for each share subject to restricted stock units or other full value awards (not including stock options or stock appreciation rights) which are forfeited or reacquired for the reasons described in the preceding two sentences.

Plan Administration. Our Board of Directors has assigned the authority to administer the 2022 Plan to our Compensation Committee, but may, at any time, re-vest in itself some or all of the power delegated to our Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee may delegate to one or more of our officers the authority to (i) designate employees (other than officers) to receive specified stock awards and (ii) determine the number of shares subject to such stock awards. Under our 2022 Plan, our Compensation Committee has the authority to determine award recipients, grant dates, the numbers and types of stock awards to be granted, the applicable fair market value, and the provisions of each stock award, including the period of exercisability and the vesting schedule applicable to a stock award.

Stock Options. ISOs and NSOs are granted under stock option agreements in a form approved by the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee determines the exercise price for stock options, within the terms and conditions of the 2022 Plan, provided that the exercise price of a stock option generally cannot be less than 100% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. Options granted under the 2022 Plan vest at the rate specified in the stock option agreement as determined by the Compensation Committee.

The Compensation Committee determines the term of stock options granted under the 2022 Plan, up to a maximum of 10 years. Unless the terms of an option holder’s stock option agreement, or other written agreement between us and the recipient approved by the Compensation Committee, provide otherwise, if an option holder’s service relationship with us or any of our affiliates ceases for any reason other than disability, death or cause, the option holder may generally exercise any vested options for a period of three months following the cessation of service. This period may be extended in the event that exercise of the option is prohibited by applicable securities laws. If an option holder’s service relationship with us or any of our affiliates ceases due to death, or an option holder dies within a certain period following cessation of service, the option holder or a beneficiary may generally exercise any vested options for a period of 18 months following the date of death. If an option holder’s service relationship with us or any of our affiliates ceases due to disability, the option holder may generally exercise any vested options for a period of 12 months following the cessation of service. In the event of a termination for cause, options generally terminate upon the termination date. In no event may an option be exercised beyond the expiration of its term.

Acceptable consideration for the purchase of common stock issued upon the exercise of a stock option will be determined by the Compensation Committee and may include (i) cash, check, bank draft or money order, (ii) a broker-assisted cashless exercise, (iii) the tender of shares of our common stock previously owned by the option holder, (iv) a net exercise of the option if it is an NSO or (v) other legal consideration approved by the Board of Directors.

Unless the Compensation Committee provides otherwise, options or stock appreciation rights generally are not transferable except by will or the laws of descent and distribution. Subject to approval of the Compensation Committee or a duly authorized officer, an option may be transferred pursuant to a domestic relations order, official marital settlement agreement or other divorce or separation instrument.

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Tax Limitations on ISOs. The aggregate fair market value, determined at the time of grant, of our common stock with respect to ISOs that are exercisable for the first time by an award holder during any calendar year under all of our stock plans may not exceed $100,000. Options or portions thereof that exceed such limit will generally be treated as NSOs. No ISO may be granted to any person who, at the time of the grant, owns or is deemed to own stock possessing more than 10% of our total combined voting power or that of any of our parent or subsidiary corporations unless (i) the option exercise price is at least 110% of the fair market value of the stock subject to the option on the date of grant and (ii) the term of the ISO does not exceed five years from the date of grant.

Restricted Stock Unit Awards. Restricted stock unit awards are granted under restricted stock unit award agreements in a form approved by the Compensation Committee. Restricted stock unit awards may be granted in consideration for any form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to our board of directors and permissible under applicable law. A restricted stock unit award may be settled by cash, delivery of stock, a combination of cash and stock as deemed appropriate by the Compensation Committee or in any other form of consideration set forth in the restricted stock unit award agreement. Additionally, dividend equivalents may be credited in respect of shares covered by a restricted stock unit award. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable award agreement, or other written agreement between us and the recipient approved by the Compensation Committee, restricted stock unit awards that have not vested will be forfeited once the participant’s continuous service ends for any reason.

Restricted Stock Awards. Restricted stock awards are granted under restricted stock award agreements in a form approved by the Compensation Committee. A restricted stock award may be awarded in consideration for cash, check, bank draft or money order, past or future services to us or any other form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to our board of directors and permissible under applicable law. The Compensation Committee determines the terms and conditions of restricted stock awards, including vesting and forfeiture terms. If a participant’s service relationship with us ends for any reason, we may receive any or all of the shares of common stock held by the participant that have not vested as of the date the participant terminates service with us through a forfeiture condition or a repurchase right.

Stock Appreciation Rights. Stock appreciation rights are granted under stock appreciation right agreements in a form approved by the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee determines the strike price for a stock appreciation right, which generally cannot be less than 100% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. A stock appreciation right granted under the 2022 Plan vests at the rate specified in the stock appreciation right agreement as determined by the Compensation Committee. Stock appreciation rights may be settled in cash or shares of common stock or in any other form of payment as determined by the Board and specified in the stock appreciation right agreement.

The Compensation Committee determines the term of stock appreciation rights granted under the 2022 Plan, up to a maximum of 10 years. If a participant’s service relationship with us or any of our affiliates ceases for any reason other than cause, disability or death, the participant may generally exercise any vested stock appreciation right for a period of three months following the cessation of service. This period may be further extended in the event that exercise of the stock appreciation right following such a termination of service is prohibited by applicable securities laws. If a participant’s service relationship with us, or any of our affiliates, ceases due to disability or death, or a participant dies within a certain period following cessation of service, the participant or a beneficiary may generally exercise any vested stock appreciation right for a period of 12 months in the event of disability and 18 months in the event of death. In the event of a termination for cause, stock appreciation rights generally terminate immediately upon the occurrence of the event giving rise to the termination of the individual for cause. In no event may a stock appreciation right be exercised beyond the expiration of its term.

Performance Awards. The 2022 Plan permits the grant of performance awards that may be settled in stock, cash or other property. Performance awards may be structured so that the stock or cash will be issued or paid only following the achievement of certain pre-established performance goals during a designated performance period. Performance awards that are settled in cash or other property are not required to be valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, the common stock.

The performance goals may be based on any measure of performance selected by the board of directors or the Compensation Committee. The performance goals may be based on company-wide performance or performance of one or more business units, divisions, affiliates or business segments, and may be either absolute or relative to the performance of one or more comparable companies or the performance of one or more relevant indices. Unless specified otherwise by the board of directors at the time the performance award is granted, the board

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or Compensation Committee will appropriately make adjustments in the method of calculating the attainment of performance goals as follows: (i) to exclude restructuring and/or other nonrecurring charges; (ii) to exclude exchange rate effects; (iii) to exclude the effects of changes to generally accepted accounting principles; (iv) to exclude the effects of any statutory adjustments to corporate tax rates; (v) to exclude the effects of items that are “unusual” in nature or occur “infrequently” as determined under generally accepted accounting principles; (vi) to exclude the dilutive effects of acquisitions or joint ventures; (vii) to assume that any portion of our business which is divested achieved performance objectives at targeted levels during the balance of a performance period following such divestiture; (viii) to exclude the effect of any change in the outstanding shares of our common stock by reason of any stock dividend or split, stock repurchase, reorganization, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, combination or exchange of shares or other similar corporate change or any distributions to common stockholders other than regular cash dividends; (ix) to exclude the effects of stock based compensation and the award of bonuses under our bonus plans; (x) to exclude costs incurred in connection with potential acquisitions or divestitures that are required to be expensed under generally accepted accounting principles; (xi) to exclude the goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges that are required to be recorded under generally accepted accounting principles; and (xi) to exclude the effects of the timing of acceptance for review and/or approval of submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other regulatory body.

Other Stock Awards. The Compensation Committee may grant other awards based in whole or in part by reference to our common stock. The Compensation Committee will set the number of shares under the stock award (or cash equivalent) and all other terms and conditions of such awards.

Non-Employee Director Compensation Limit. The aggregate value of all compensation granted or paid to any non-employee director with respect to any calendar year, including awards granted and cash fees paid by us to such non-employee director, will not exceed $150,000 in total value; provided that such amount will increase to $200,000 for the first year for newly appointed or elected non-employee directors.

Changes to Capital Structure. In the event there is a specified type of change in our capital structure, such as a stock split, reverse stock split or recapitalization, appropriate adjustments will be made to (i) the class and maximum number of shares reserved for issuance under the 2022 Plan, (ii) the class and maximum number of shares by which the share reserve may increase automatically each year, (iii) the class and maximum number of shares that may be issued on the exercise of ISOs and (iv) the class and number of shares and exercise price, strike price or purchase price, if applicable, of all outstanding stock awards.

Corporate Transactions. The following applies to stock awards under the 2022 Plan in the event of a corporate transaction (as defined in the 2022 Plan), unless otherwise provided in a participant’s stock award agreement or other written agreement with us or one of our affiliates or unless otherwise expressly provided by the Board of Directors or Compensation Committee at the time of grant.

In the event of a corporate transaction, any stock awards outstanding under the 2022 Plan may be assumed, continued or substituted for by any surviving or acquiring corporation (or its parent company), and any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by us with respect to the stock award may be assigned to the successor (or its parent company). If the surviving or acquiring corporation (or its parent company) does not assume, continue or substitute for such stock awards, then (i) with respect to any such stock awards that are held by participants whose continuous service has not terminated prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction, or current participants, the vesting (and exercisability, if applicable) of such stock awards will be accelerated in full to a date prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction (contingent upon the effectiveness of the corporate transaction), and such stock awards will terminate if not exercised (if applicable) at or prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction, and any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by us with respect to such stock awards will lapse (contingent upon the effectiveness of the corporate transaction), and (ii) any such stock awards that are held by persons other than current participants will terminate if not exercised (if applicable) prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction, except that any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by us with respect to such stock awards will not terminate and may continue to be exercised notwithstanding the corporate transaction.

In the event a stock award will terminate if not exercised prior to the effective time of a corporate transaction, the board of directors may provide, in its sole discretion, that the holder of such stock award may not exercise such stock award but instead will receive a payment equal in value to the excess (if any) of (i) the per share amount payable to holders of common stock in connection with the corporate transaction over (ii) any per share exercise

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price payable by such holder, if applicable. In addition, any escrow, holdback, earn out or similar provisions in the definitive agreement for the corporate transaction may apply to such payment to the same extent and in the same manner as such provisions apply to the holders of common stock.

Plan Amendment or Termination. Our board of directors has the authority to amend, suspend or terminate our 2022 Plan, provided that such action does not materially impair the existing rights of any participant without such participant’s written consent. Certain material amendments also require the approval of our stockholders. No ISOs may be granted after the tenth anniversary of the date our board of directors adopts our 2022 Plan. No stock awards may be granted under our 2022 Plan while it is suspended or after it is terminated.

2019 Equity Incentive Plan

Our board of directors adopted and our stockholders approved our 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2019 Plan”) in July 2019 for grants of awards to employees, directors, officers and consultants of us or any of our subsidiaries. Once the 2022 Plan became effective, no further grants will be made under the 2019 Plan. However, the 2019 Plan will continue to govern the terms and conditions of the outstanding awards previously granted under the 2019 Plan.

Awards. Our 2019 Plan provides for the grant of stock awards (collectively, “Stock Awards”) to employees, directors, officers and consultants of us or any of our subsidiaries, consisting of (i) incentive stock options, (“ISOs”), within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”); (ii) nonstatutory stock options (“NSOs”); (iii) stock appreciation rights; (iv) restricted stock awards; (v) restricted stock unit awards, and (vi) other forms of awards.

Authorized Shares. As of May 3, 2022, stock options covering 780,640 shares, each with an exercise price of $0.01 per share were the only outstanding Stock Awards outstanding under our 2019 Plan, and 619,360 shares of our common stock remained available for the future grant of awards under our 2019 Plan, which upon the adoption of the 2022 Plan, became issuable under the 2022 Plan.

Plan Administration. The 2019 Plan may be administered by our board of directors, and our board of directors may delegate such administration to a committee of the board of directors (as applicable, the “Administrator”). The Administrator, in its discretion, selects the individuals to whom awards may be granted, the time or times at which such awards are granted and the terms and conditions of such awards.

Stock Options. Stock options entitle the holder to purchase a specified number of shares of common stock at a specified price (the exercise price), subject to the terms and conditions of the stock option grant. Our board of directors may grant either incentive stock options, which must comply with Code Section 422, or nonqualified stock options. ISO’s may only be granted to employees of the Company or a “parent corporation” or “subsidiary corporation” thereof (as such terms are defined in Sections 424(e) and 424(f) of the Code). Our Administrator sets exercise prices and terms and conditions, except that stock options must be granted with an exercise price not less than 100% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. Unless our Administrator determines otherwise, fair market value means, as of a given date, the closing price of our common stock. At the time of grant, our board of directors determines the terms and conditions of stock options, including the quantity, exercise price, vesting periods, term (which may not exceed 10 years) and other conditions on exercise. Pursuant to the 2019 Plan, we may only issue 1,400,000 ISO’s.

Eligibility. Awards may be granted under the 2019 Plan to officers, employees, directors, officers and of us and our subsidiaries. Incentive stock options may be granted only to employees of us or our subsidiaries.

Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units and Other Stock-Based Awards. Our board of directors may grant awards of restricted stock, which are shares of common stock subject to specified restrictions, and restricted stock units, or RSUs, which represent the right to receive shares of our common stock in the future. These awards may be made subject to repurchase, forfeiture or vesting restrictions at the discretion of our board of directors discretion. The restrictions may be based on continuous service with us or the attainment of specified performance goals, as determined by the board of directors. Stock units may be paid in stock or cash or a combination of stock and cash, as determined by the board of directors. Other stock awards valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise

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based on, common stock, including the appreciation in value thereof (e.g., options or stock rights with an exercise price or strike price less than one hundred percent (100%) of the fair market value of the common stock at the time of grant) may be granted either alone or in addition to stock awards provided for under the 2019 Plan.

Stock Appreciation Rights. Upon exercise, SARs entitle the holder to receive payment per share in stock or cash, or in a combination of stock and cash, equal to the excess of the share’s fair market value on the date of exercise over the aggregate strike price of the number of common stock equivalents with respect to which the Participant is exercising the SAR on such date (the “grant price”. Exercise of a SAR issued in tandem with a stock option will reduce the number of shares underlying the related stock option to the extent of the SAR exercised. The term of a SAR cannot exceed 10 years.

Changes to Capital Structure. In the event there is a specified type of change in our capital structure, such as a stock split, reverse stock split or recapitalization, appropriate adjustments will be made to (i) the class and maximum number of shares subject to the 2019 Plan, (ii) the class and maximum number of shares that may be issued on the exercise of ISOs and (iii) the class and number of shares and exercise price, strike price or purchase price, if applicable, of all outstanding stock awards.

Corporate Transactions. The following applies to Stock Awards under the 2019 Plan in the event of a corporate transaction (as defined in the 2019 Plan), unless otherwise provided in a participant’s stock award agreement or other written agreement with us or one of our affiliates or unless otherwise expressly provided by the Board of Directors at the time of grant.

In the event of a corporate transaction, the board of directors may take one of the following actions, contingent on the completion of the corporate transaction: (i) arrange for the surviving or acquiring corporation (or its parent company) to assume, continue or substitute the Stock Award for a similar stock award; (ii) arrange for the assignment of any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company in respect of common stock issued pursuant to the Stock Award to the surviving or acquiring corporation (or its parent company); (iii) accelerate the vesting (in whole or in part) of the Stock Award; (iv) arrange for the lapse, in whole or in part, of any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company with respect to the Stock Award; (v) cancel or arrange for the cancellation of the Stock Award, to the extent not vested or not exercised prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction, in exchange for such cash consideration that the Board of Directors; and (vi) make a payment equal to the excess, if any, of (A) the value of the property the participant would have received upon the exercise of the Stock Award immediately prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction, over (B) any exercise price payable by such holder in connection with such exercise The Board of Directors need not take the same action or actions with respect to all Stock Awards or portions thereof or with respect to all participants. The Board of Directors may also take different actions with respect to the vested and unvested portions of a Stock Award.

Additionally, under the 2019 Plan, a Stock Award may be subject to additional acceleration of vesting and exercisability upon or after a Change in Control (as defined in the 2019 Plan) as may be provided in the Grant Agreement for such Stock Award or as may be provided in any other written agreement between the participant and the Company or any of its subsidiaries which may employ the participant, but in the absence of such provision, no such acceleration will occur.

Plan Amendment or Termination. Our board of directors has the authority to amend, suspend or terminate our 2019 Plan, subject to certain conditions, including that such action does not materially impair the existing rights of any participant without such participant’s written consent. Certain material amendments also require the approval of our stockholders. No ISOs may be granted after the tenth anniversary of the date our board of directors adopted our 2019 Plan.

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DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

Historically, our directors have not received cash compensation for their service except for option grants. However, in April 2022, after a review of non-employee director compensation at comparable companies, the Board approved cash and equity compensation of directors, such that we will pay each of our non-employee directors a cash retainer for service on the Board and for service on each committee on which the director is a member. The chair of each committee receive an additional retainer for such service. These retainers are payable in arrears in four equal quarterly installments. The retainers paid to non-employee directors for service on the Board and for service on each committee of the Board on which the director is a member are as follows:

Annual Board Service Retainer
All non-employee directors	$	45,000
Annual Committee Member Service Retainer
Member of the Audit Committee	$	10,000
Member of the Compensation Committee	$	7,500
Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee	$	5,000
Annual Committee Chair Service Retainer
(in addition to Committee Member Service Retainer above):
Chair of the Audit Committee	$	10,000
Chair of the Compensation Committee	$	7,500
Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee	$	5,000

Additionally, each non-director will receive an annual grant of nonqualified stock options to purchase 0.04% of the shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the date of the Company’s annual meeting, such options vesting monthly over a one-year period and fully vesting upon the director’s death or disability or upon a change of control of the Company.

Our Nominating Committee will continue to review and make recommendations to the Board regarding compensation of directors, including equity-based plans. We will reimburse our non-employee directors for reasonable travel expenses incurred in attending board and committee meetings.

Director Compensation Table

The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation of our directors for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021:

Name	Fees Earned or Paid In Cash ($)	Stock Awards ($)	Option Awards ($)	Total ($)
Kimberly Murphy	—	—	—	—
James Sapirstein	—	—	—	—
Allan Shaw	—	—	—	—
Michael Venerable	—	—	—	—
John Rice, Phd.(1)	—	—	—	—

____________

(1) Mr. Rice resigned from our Board, effective February 24, 2022.

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Board Diversity Matrix

The following Board Diversity Matrix presents our Board diversity statistics in accordance with Nasdaq Rule 5606, as self-disclosed by our Directors.

Board Diversity Matrix as of July 18, 2022
Total Number of Directors		5

	Female	Male	Non-Binary	Did Not Disclose Gender
Part I: Gender Identity
Directors	1	4
Part II: Demographic Background
African American or Black
Alaskan Native or Native American
Asian
Hispanic or Latinx		2
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
White	1	3
Two or More Races or Ethnicities
LGBTQ+
Did Not Disclose Demographic Background

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PROPOSAL 2
APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS TO THE 2022 PLAN

Background

The stockholders are being asked to vote to approve amendments to our 2022 Plan to (i) increase the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock which may be issued under the 2022 Plan by 1,000,000 shares from 1,600,000 to 2,600,000 shares and (ii) change the maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be awarded to participants under the 2022 Plan as ISOs from 250,000 to a number that is equal to the number of shares reserved under the 2022 Plan at any time.

The amendments to the 2022 Plan were approved by the Board at a special meeting of the Board on June 24, 2022 and will not be effective unless and until they are approved by our stockholders. If our stockholders do not approve the amendments to the 2022 Plan, the amendments will not take effect, but we may continue to grant rights to purchase shares under the 2022 Plan in accordance with the current terms and conditions of the 2022 Plan; provided, however, that only 34,682 shares will remain available to be awarded as ISOs under the 2022 Plan. The Board has determined that it is in the best interests of us and our stockholders that the amendments to the 2022 Plan be approved and is asking our stockholders for their approval of the amendments to the 2022 Plan. The form of Amended and Restated 2022 Plan which reflects the proposed amendments is attached as Appendix A to this Proxy Statement (additions are underlined, deletions are struck through).

Explanation of Amendments

Increase of shares issuable under the 2022 Plan

Section 2(a) of the 2022 Plan currently provides as follows:

“(a) Share Reserve. Subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 2(d) and any adjustments as necessary to implement any Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Awards will not exceed the sum of (i) 200,000 new shares, plus (ii) the Prior Plans’ Available Reserve; plus, (iii) the number of Returning Shares, if any, as such shares become available from time to time.”

In order to increase the number of shares issuable under the 2022 Plan, the Board has authorized and approved the following new Section 2(a) of the 2022 Stock Option Plan to replace the existing Section 2(a) in its entirety:

“(a) Share Reserve. Subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 2(d) and any adjustments as necessary to implement any Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Awards will not exceed the sum of (i) 1,200,000 new shares, plus (ii) the Prior Plans’ Available Reserve; plus, (iii) the number of Returning Shares, if any, as such shares become available from time to time.”

Change in maximum shares issuable pursuant to exercise of ISOs issuable under the 2022 Plan

Section 2(c) of the 2022 Plan currently provides as follows:

“(c) Aggregate Incentive Stock Option Limit. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 2(a) and subject to any adjustments as necessary to implement any Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options is 250,000 shares.”

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In order to change the maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be awarded to participants under the 2022 Plan as ISOs from 250,000 to a number that is equal to the number of shares reserved under the 2022 Plan at any time, the Board has authorized and approved the following new Section 2(a) of the 2022 Stock Option Plan to replace the existing Section 2(c) of the 2022 Plan in its entirety:

Vote Required

The approval of the amendments to the 2022 Plan requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes properly cast. Abstentions will have no effect on the results of this vote.

Recommendation

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS YOU VOTE FOR THE RESOLUTION TO APPROVE, THE AMENDMENT TO THE 2022 PLAN TO (I) INCREASE THE AGGREGATE NUMBER OF SHARES OF COMMON STOCK WHICH MAY BE ISSUED UNDER THE PLAN BY 1,000,000 SHARES FROM 1,600,000 TO 2,600,000 SHARES AND (II) CHANGE THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SHARES OF COMMON STOCK THAT MAY BE AWARDED TO PARTICIPANTS UNDER THE 2022 PLAN AS ISOS FROM 250,000 TO A NUMBER THAT IS EQUAL TO THE NUMBER OF SHARES RESERVED UNDER THE 2022 PLAN AT ANY TIME.

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PROPOSAL 3
RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE
COMPANY’S INDEPENDENT AUDITORS FOR FISCAL 2022

Introduction

On June 24, 2022, the Board ratified the appointment of the firm of Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. At the meeting, our stockholders will be asked to ratify such appointment of the Auditor to serve as our independent auditors. The Board, through the Audit Committee, is directly responsible for appointing the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. The Board is not bound by the outcome of this vote but will consider these voting results when selecting the Company’s independent auditor for fiscal year 2023. A representative of the Auditor is not expected to be present at the Meeting.

Fees

The table below presents the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by MHM for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

	2021		2020
Audit fees	$	460,673	$	135,640
Audit-related fees		—		—
All other fees		—		—
Total fess	$	460,673	$	135,640

In the above table, “audit fees” are fees billed for services provided related to the audit of our annual financial statements, quarterly reviews of our interim financial statements, and services normally provided by the independent accountant in connection with regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal periods. “Audit-related fees” are fees not included in audit fees that are billed by the independent accountant for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements. “All other fees” are fees billed by the independent accountant for products and services not included in the foregoing categories. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the audit fees included professional services rendered related to our initial public offering.

Our Audit Committee has determined that the services provided by the Auditor are compatible with maintaining the independence of the Auditor as our independent registered public accounting firm.

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

The formal written charter for our Audit Committee requires that the audit committee pre-approve all audit services to be provided to us, whether provided by our principal auditor or other firms, and all other services (review, attest and non-audit) to be provided to us by our independent registered public accounting firm, other than de minimis non-audit services approved in accordance with applicable SEC rules.

The Audit Committee has adopted a pre-approval policy that sets forth the procedures and conditions pursuant to which audit and non-audit services proposed to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm may be pre-approved. This pre-approval policy generally provides that the Audit Committee will not engage an independent registered public accounting firm to render any audit, audit-related, tax or permissible non-audit service unless the service is either (i) explicitly approved by the audit committee or (ii) entered into pursuant to the pre-approval policies and procedures described in the pre-approval policy. Unless a type of service to be provided by our independent registered public accounting firm has received this latter general pre-approval under the pre-approval policy, it requires specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee.

On an annual basis, the Audit Committee reviews and generally pre-approves the services (and related fee levels or budgeted amounts) that may be provided by the Corporation’s independent registered public accounting firm without first obtaining specific pre-approval from the audit committee. The Audit Committee may revise the list of general pre-approved services from time to time, based on subsequent determinations. Any member of the Audit Committee to whom the committee delegates authority to make pre-approval decisions must report any

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such pre-approval decisions to the Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting. If circumstances arise where it becomes necessary to engage the independent registered public accounting firm for additional services not contemplated in the original pre-approval categories or above the pre-approved amounts, the Audit Committee requires pre-approval for such additional services or such additional amounts.

While our Audit Committee had not been established in 2020 or 2021, the services provided to us by Mayer, Hoffman McCann P.C. in fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021 would have complied with our pre-approval policies and procedures, as applicable.

Vote Required

Ratification of the appointment by the Audit Committee of the Auditor as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at this Meeting.

Recommendation of the Board

THE BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT BY THE BOARD OF MAYER HOFFMAN MCCANN P.C. AS THE COMPANY’S INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2022.

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OTHER INFORMATION

Proxy Solicitation

Proxies

A stockholder may revoke his, her or its proxy at any time prior to its use by giving written notice to the Secretary of the Company, by executing a revised proxy at a later date or by attending the Meeting and voting in person. Proxies in the form enclosed, unless previously revoked, will be voted at the Meeting in accordance with the specifications made thereon or, in the absence of such specifications in accordance with the recommendations of the Board.

Securities Outstanding; Votes Required

As of the close of business on the Record Date there were 12,299,399 shares of Common Stock outstanding. Stockholders are entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock owned. In the election of directors, the two persons receiving the highest number of affirmative votes cast at the Meeting will be elected. The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of Common Stock present at the Meeting by proxy is required for approval of proposals 2 and 3. Shares of Common Stock represented by executed proxies received by the Company will be counted for purposes of establishing a quorum at the Meeting, regardless of how or whether such shares are voted on any specific proposal.

Other Business

Our Board knows of no other matter to be presented at the Meeting. If any additional matter should properly come before the Meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the enclosed proxy to vote such proxy in accordance with their judgment on any such matters.

Householding Information

Unless we have received contrary instructions, we may send a single copy of this proxy statement to any household at which two or more stockholders reside if we believe the stockholders are members of the same family. This process, known as “householding,” reduces the volume of duplicate information received at any one household and helps to reduce our expenses. However, if stockholders prefer to receive multiple sets of our disclosure documents at the same address this year or in future years, the stockholders should follow the instructions described below. Similarly, if an address is shared with another stockholder and together both of the stockholders would like to receive only a single set of our disclosure documents, the stockholders should follow these instructions:

• If the shares are registered in the name of the stockholder, the stockholder should contact us at our offices at Blue Water Vaccines Inc., 201 E. Fifth Street, Suite 1900, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, to inform us of his or her request; or

• If a bank, broker or other nominee holds the shares, the stockholder should contact the bank, broker or other nominee directly.

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Where You Can Find More Information

We file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC as required by the Exchange Act. You can read the Company’s SEC filings, including this Proxy Statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

If you would like additional copies of this Proxy Statement or if you have questions about the proposals to be presented at the Special Meeting, you should contact the Company at the following address and telephone number:

Blue Water Vaccines Inc.
201 E. Fifth Street, Suite 1900
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Attention: Erin Henderson
Email: ehenderson@bluewatervaccines.com

If you are a stockholder of the Company and would like to request documents, please do so by August 19, 2022, 72 hours prior to the Meeting, in order to receive them before the Meeting. If you request any documents from us, we will mail them to you by first class mail, or another equally prompt means.

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Beneficial Ownership of Principal Stockholders, Officers and Directors

The following table sets forth certain information concerning the ownership of our Common Stock, with respect to: (i) each person, or group of affiliated persons, known to us to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of our Common Stock; (ii) each of our directors; (iii) each of our named executive officers; and (iv) all of our current directors and executive officers as a group.

Applicable percentage ownership is based on 12,299,399 shares of common stock outstanding as of the Record Date.

We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the rules of the SEC. These rules generally attribute beneficial ownership of securities to persons who possess sole or shared voting or investment power with respect to such securities. In addition, pursuant to such rules, we deemed outstanding shares of Common Stock subject to options or warrants held by that person that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of July 11, 2022. We did not deem such shares outstanding, however, for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. Except as indicated by the footnotes below, we believe, based on the information furnished to us, that the beneficial owners named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of our common stock that they beneficially own, subject to applicable community property laws.

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)	Number of Shares		Percentage
5% Stockholders
Cincinnati Cornerstone Investors BWV I, LLC	3,611,201	(1)	29.53	%
CincyTech Fund IV, LLC	836,660	(2)	6.84	%
Sabby Volatility Warrant Master Fund, Ltd.	1,180,812	(3)	4.99	%(4)
Named Executive Officers and Directors
Joseph Hernandez	3,391,656	(5)	27.73	%
Kimberly Murphy	32,918	(6)	*
Allan L. Shaw	32,918	(6)	*
Michael Venerable	2,326	(7)	*
James Sapirstein	8,062	(8)	*
Simon Tarsh (Director Nominee)
Erin Henderson	163,624	(9)	1.34	%
Jon Garfield
All directors, director nominees and named executive officers as a group (8 persons)			29.69	%

____________

* Represents beneficial ownership of less than 1%.

(1) Consists of 3,611,201 shares of Common Stock held of record by Cincinnati Cornerstone Investors BWV I. Cincinnati Cornerstone Capital, LLC holds voting and dispositive power with respect to the shares of Common Stock tock held by Cincinnati Cornerstone Investors BWV I. The address for these entities is 2900 Reading Rd., Suite 410, Cincinnati, OH 45206.

(2) Consists of (i) 806,068 shares of Common Stock held of record by CincyTech Fund IV, LLC and (ii) 30,592 shares of common stock underlying options that are currently exercisable within 60 days of July 11, 2022. CincyTech, LLC holds voting and dispositive power with respect to the shares of Common Stock held by CincyTech Fund IV, LLC. The address for these entities is 2900 Reading Rd., Suite 410, Cincinnati, OH 45206.

(3) Consists of (i) 590,406 Shares of Common Stock held by Sabby Volatility Warrant Master Fund, Ltd. and (ii) 590,406 shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of Preferred Investment Options, all of which are exercisable within 60 days of July 11, 2022. All of the Warrants held contain certain beneficial ownership limitations, which provide that the holder shall not exercise any portion of its Warrants if such holder, together with its affiliates and attribution parties, would beneficially own in excess of 4.99% or 9.99%, as applicable, of the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise, provided that upon at least 61 days’ prior notice to us, a holder may increase or decrease such limitation up to a maximum of 9.99% of the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding (each such limitation, a “Beneficial Ownership Limitation”). Sabby Management, LLC is the investment manager of Sabby Volatility Warrant Master Fund, Ltd. and shares voting and investment power with

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respect to these shares in this capacity. As manager of Sabby Management, LLC, Hal Mintz also shares voting and investment power on behalf of Sabby Volatility Warrant Master Fund, Ltd. The address of the Sabby Volatility Warrant Master Fund, Ltd. is c/o Sabby Management, LLC, 10 Mountainview Road, Suite 205, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Each of Sabby Management, LLC and Hal Mintz disclaims beneficial ownership over the securities listed except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein.

(4) Does not include placement shares underlying the 541,109 warrants that are not exercisable as a result of the Beneficial Ownership Limitation.

(5) Consists of 3,200,000 shares of common stock and 191,656 shares of common stock underlying options that are currently exercisable within 60 days of July 11, 2022.

(6) Consists of 32,918 shares of common stock underlying options that are currently exercisable within 60 days of July 11, 2022.

(7) Consists of 2,326 shares of common stock underlying options that are currently exercisable within 60 days of July 11, 2022.

(8)

SEC Form DEF 14A filed by Blue Water Vaccines Inc.