Governor Ron DeSantis has called for a grand jury to investigate "misconduct" surrounding the manufacturing and rollout of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, the Daily Wire reported. The Florida governor made the announcement Tuesday.
DeSantis was flanked by health officials, including Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who were meeting at an event to discuss "accountability" for possible side effects from the shots. "That will come with legal processes that we'll be able to get more information and to bring legal accountability for those who committed misconduct," DeSantis said.
The investigation comes amid reports of serious side effects in younger patients. The jab is associated with myocarditis in teens and young adults, which is characterized by serious inflammation of the heart
Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now admits that it is a "rare yet potentially serious" side effect. However, DeSantis wants to uncover what the manufacturers knew about this danger and when they knew it.
"We did a study in Florida, and you saw an 86% increase in cardiac-related activity from people 18 to 39 from mRNA shots. So we're going to be doing some stuff to bring accountability there," DeSantis explained about the impetus for the grand jury investigation.
"In Florida, it is illegal to mislead and misrepresent, especially when you are talking about the efficacy of a drug," DeSantis also said at the event during a roundtable discussion, the New York Post reported. However, Pfizer still held the line in a statement to the Daily Wire.
"Regulatory agencies across the world have authorized the use of our COVID-19 vaccine," the manufacturer's spokesperson said. "These authorizations are based on robust and independent evaluation of the scientific data on quality, safety and efficacy, including our landmark phase 3 clinical trial."
"Data from real-world studies complement the clinical trial data and provide additional evidence that the vaccine provides effective protection against severe disease," the statement added. "Over the course of this deadly pandemic, mRNA vaccines have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, tens of billions of dollars in health care costs, and enabled people worldwide to go about their lives more freely," the company further claimed.
"As of November 27th, 2022, we have delivered 4.3 billion vaccines to 181 countries and territories in every region of the world," Pfizer's spokesperson noted. However, that doesn't negate the fact that cardiac emergencies in children are a known risk.
The governor is not just grasping at straws by pursuing the pharmaceutical company. Florida successfully sued for and received "$3.2 billion through legal action against those responsible for the opioid crisis," DeSantis pointed out.
"So it's not like this is something that's unprecedented." DeSantis has also announced the formation of a Public Health Integrity Committee run by Ladapo "to ensure public health policies are tailored for Florida's communities and aligned with state priorities."
There's growing evidence that something went wrong following the vaccine rollout. While most other politicians ignore the growing alarm, DeSantis seems to be the only one in power doing anything substantive about it.
Perhaps it is misinformation, as some claim, but it's still clear that the impression that these vaccines are dangerous is pervasive, The Hill reported. Uptake in the new bivalent coronavirus booster and the annual flu shot has dropped precipitously this year.
DeSantis made a name for himself -- and likely won re-election because of -- his steadfast resistance to lockdowns and restrictions other governors were eagerly implementing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now he's taking on the vaccine manufacturers with similar courage -- and he'll likely win the presidency because if it, should he choose to run in 2024.
