The Florida Twenty-Second Statewide Grand Jury has released its final report after a months-long investigation into vaccine manufacturers and their production processes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(N)ot finding any indictable criminal activity does not mean we did not find any problems. On the contrary, there are profound and serious issues involving the process of vaccine development and safety surveillance in the United States,” the grand jury wrote in its final report.
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The Grand Jury’s report alleges that pharmaceutical companies engaged in a “pattern of deceptive and obfuscatory behavior” during the vaccine production and distribution process.
“It is frustrating to this Grand Jury, as it should be frustrating to everyone who reads this report, to know that these sponsors have taken in billions of taxpayer dollars for creating and selling their vaccines; they cannot be sued if something goes wrong with them; they have access to critical information about deaths related to a side effect of their products; and the public does not have access to that information,” said the report. “Instead, we are left to speculate, and the research community is left to draw inferences as one-off or two-off histopathological reports detailing the events of this death or that death that trickle into scientific journals slowly, year after year. Somehow, withholding this valuable safety information is not a crime. It certainly should be.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis initiated the investigation and called the findings a step toward holding pharmaceutical companies accountable.
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“Big Pharma brought in billions of dollars in profit while the federal government amplified bogus studies and suppressed opposition,” DeSantis said in a statement. “The status quo cannot continue. The American people deserve transparency on how Big Pharma is using their federal tax dollars, and they deserve regulating entities that operate as watchdogs, not cheerleaders.”
DeSantis added that his administration would carefully review the recommendations and explore legislative or policy changes to improve oversight and accountability in the pharmaceutical industry.
The Grand Jury’s report has reignited debate over the role of pharmaceutical companies and federal agencies in public health. As Florida policymakers and federal agencies digest the recommendations, the findings will likely shape future discussions on vaccine regulation and the broader relationship between the government and the pharmaceutical industry.
For now, the Grand Jury’s report serves as a call to action for increased transparency and accountability in a sector critical to global health.
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