Four additional states will follow Kansas’s lead by filing large-scale lawsuits against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. These states allege that the company misled the public regarding the safety and efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine.
Last week, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced that he is suing pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for misleading Kansas residents about the safety and efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine.
During a press conference in Topeka, alongside Deputy Attorney General Fran Oleen and Assistant Attorneys General Kaley Schrader and Melanie Jack, Kobach detailed the allegations lodged against Pfizer.
“Kansas is filing a civil suit against the Pfizer Corporation under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, seeking enhanced civil monetary penalties, damages, and injunctive relief for misleading and deceptive statements made in marketing its COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer also violated previous consent judgments with the state of Kansas, in which Pfizer promised never to use deceptive information to market their products,” said Kobach.
The complaint, lodged today in Thomas County District Court, accuses Pfizer of misleading Kansans about the vaccines’ risks, including potential harm to pregnant women and the risk of myocarditis. The suit further alleges that Pfizer falsely claimed its vaccine was effective against COVID variants, despite evidence to the contrary.
The State of Kansas outlines several specific allegations in its lawsuit:
1. Pfizer misled the public that it had a “safe and effective” COVID-19 vaccine.
2. Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine was safe even though it knew its COVID-19 vaccine was connected to serious adverse events, including myocarditis and pericarditis, failed pregnancies, and deaths. Pfizer concealed this critical safety information from the public.
3. Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine was effective even though it knew its COVID19 vaccine waned over time and did not protect against COVID-19 variants. Pfizer concealed this critical effectiveness information from the public.
4. Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine would prevent transmission of COVID-19 even though it knew it never studied the effect of its vaccine on transmission of COVID-19.
5. To keep the public from learning the truth, Pfizer worked to censor speech on social media that questioned Pfizer’s claims about its COVID-19 vaccine.
6. Pfizer’s misrepresentations of a “safe and effective” vaccine resulted in record company revenue of approximately $75 billion from COVID-19 vaccine sales in just two years.
7. Pfizer’s actions and statements relating to its COVID-19 vaccine violated previous consent judgments with the State of Kansas.
8. Pfizer’s actions and statements relating to its COVID-19 vaccine violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, K.S.A. 50-623 et seq., regardless of whether any individual consumer ultimately received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
9. Pfizer must be held accountable for falsely representing the benefits of its COVID19 vaccine while concealing and suppressing the truth about its vaccine’s safety risks, waning effectiveness, and inability to prevent transmission.
During the conference, Kobach mentioned that Kansas is among the first five states to file a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
“Kansas’s case is the first of a multi-state collaboration, with Kansas being the first of five states to file suit,” Kobach said during the press conference.
When a reporter asked about the number of damages that could be in this lawsuit and whether they are seeking a jury trial or a bench trial, Kobach said, “The damages depend. I think ultimately, when you’re talking about five states, then you’re talking about much greater numbers of people than the 2.9 million or so that live in Kansas. I hesitate to offer a prediction, because we don’t seek a certain number. It’s ultimately going to be the judgment of the court in that case. We have not yet made a determination whether to seek bench or jury.”
It remains unclear which states will join Kansas, but during the press conference, Kobach revealed that Idaho will be one of the four other states involved.
“Some of them have said they want to announce it on their own. Idaho is one of the other states who said that we may let you know,” Kobach said.
It can be recalled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has initiated legal action against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Inc., citing allegations of deceptive practices related to the company’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The lawsuit asserts that Pfizer engaged in misrepresenting the vaccine’s efficacy, particularly challenging the claim of 95% effectiveness, and accuses the company of trying to stifle public debate on the matter.
Attorney General Paxton accuses Pfizer of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act through “false, deceptive, and misleading acts and practices.”
The lawsuit highlights the company’s claims that the vaccine has a 95% efficacy rate against COVID-19 infection, stating that this was based on “relative risk reduction” in Pfizer’s initial short-term clinical trial results.
It is argued that this figure is a misleading statistic that should not be used to unduly influence consumer choice, especially since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated that long-term vaccine protection could not accurately be predicted at that point.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that Pfizer misrepresented the durability of the vaccine’s protection and failed to disclose information that contradicted its claims. Additionally, it is claimed that Pfizer did not measure whether the vaccine prevents transmission but still promoted it as necessary to protect others.
As the vaccine’s efficacy came under scrutiny, Pfizer is accused of taking aggressive measures to suppress critics and silence truth-tellers, who the company labeled as “criminals” spreading “misinformation,” according to the lawsuit.
