In a private meeting with the Republican Party of Florida earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) indicated that his administration would look for ways to hold COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers responsible for false claims about their products. Specifically, he referenced cardiac side effects from the vaccine and said that Florida would lead in addressing the issue. On Tuesday, DeSantis chaired a COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Accountability Roundtable and previewed the actions Florida will take.
DeSantis and the panel noted that the behavior of medical boards, federal government mandates, and a legacy media funded by Big Pharma allowed the vaccine makers to profit off mRNA technology. The governor then added that several false statements were made about the vaccines during the rollout. DeSantis referenced the claims that widespread vaccination would end COVID, that the vaccinated would not get infected, and that vaccines prevented transmission. “I think people want the truth, and they want accountability, so you need to have a thorough investigation into what’s happened with these shots,” he said.
“We also need ways to get more data so that we can better evaluate what actually happened. And the fact of the matter is we lack comprehensive patient-level data from the pharmaceutical industry, and that makes it very difficult for independent researchers to check the integrity of these shots that have been so pushed on Americans,” DeSantis pointed out.
Florida Public Health Integrity Committee member Dr. Joseph Fraiman interrupted and shared that he personally had trouble accessing patient-level data about the vaccines from the clinical trials to review. He added that there had been an open letter to the British Medical Journal (BMJ) asking Pfizer and Moderna to release it. “Well, maybe with what we are doing today, we’ll be able to get the data whether they want to give it or not,” DeSantis answered.
He continued, “In Florida, it is against the law to mislead and misrepresent, particularly when you are talking about the efficacy of a drug. We’ve seen just recently, Florida got $3.2 billion through legal action against those responsible for the opioid crisis. So, it’s not like this is something that is unprecedented.”
DeSantis announced a petition to be submitted to the Florida Supreme Court to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate any and all wrongdoing in Florida concerning COVID-19 vaccines. The governor expressed confidence that the petition would be approved. He added that it would provide legal tools to get the additional information and open the door for legal accountability for any identified misconduct.
Related: Did Florida’s Surgeon General Just Preview the Next Explosive COVID Vaccine Study?
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo made the second announcement, citing a German study that conducted autopsies on individuals who died suddenly in a specified time period after receiving the vaccine. Some of the individuals suffered from atypical or subclinical myocarditis. The researchers attributed the illness to the vaccine. Because these individuals died at home without being diagnosed, they are not included in the data on myocarditis. Florida will initiate a surveillance study to identify and document individuals who suffered from this vaccine side effect.
Finally, DeSantis announced how Florida would keep the public health establishment honest. DeSantis cited the public health response to the George Floyd riots as evidence of corruption in the system. While open states like Florida faced criticism for having beaches open, over 1,000 public health “experts” said that gathering for the protests was more important than locking down for COVID. No other type of protest or activity was permitted — just those surrounding Floyd’s death. If you went to play golf, you were trying to kill grandma. It was the height of absurdity.
“And our CDC, at this point, anything they put out, you just assume at this point it is not worth the paper it is printed on,” Desantis asserted. “And so it’s not serving a useful function. It’s really serving to advance narratives rather than do evidence-based medicine.” To combat the politicization of public health, Ladapo will convene a panel of independent experts to review public health guidance on various issues.
The Public Health Integrity Committee in Florida will assess recommendations and guidance related to public health and healthcare and offer critical assessments of the information the CDC and FDA provide. DeSantis discussed his plan to create this panel with other governors and alluded that other states may follow suit.
His plan is one of the many things that Congress should look at to devise systems to bring the NIH, CDC, and FDA under control. COVID brought to light the politicization of and conflicts of interest throughout the nation’s healthcare establishment. These agencies squandered their credibility, and it must be repaired before the next public health emergency.
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