Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday he’s petitioning Florida’s Supreme Court to impanel a grand jury to investigate Pfizer and Moderna.
DeSantis made the announcement during a “COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Accountability Roundtable” Tuesday morning, which featured Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and other experts such as Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Martin Kulldorff. The roundtable also included testimonials from individuals who said they experienced severe adverse effects after receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
In Florida, it is against the law to mislead and misrepresent the efficacy of a drug.
So, today, I’m announcing a petition to the Supreme Court of Florida to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate any wrongdoing with respect to the COVID-19 vaccines.
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) December 13, 2022
“In Florida, it is against the law to mislead and misrepresent, particularly when you’re talking about the efficacy of a drug,” DeSantis said. “So, today, I’m announcing a petition to the Supreme Court of Florida to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate any wrongdoing with respect to the COVID-19 vaccines.”
DeSantis also announced the formation of a Public Health Integrity Committee, which will include Kulldorff, Bhattacharya, Bret Weinstein and others. He cited a lack of trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the reason to form the new body.
The governor added that he expects the grand jury petition to be approved, and that it will most likely be impaneled in the Tampa Bay area. He is aiming to bring “legal accountability” to those who “committed misconduct.”
DeSantis claimed the move is not unprecedented, citing legal actions taken by states against actors involved in the opioid crisis. A number of state and local governments have reached settlements in recent years following lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors that played a role in the opioid overdose epidemic. (RELATED: ‘Prosecute Fauci’: Musk Takes Aim At Outgoing NIAID Director)
The panelists and guest speakers present at the roundtable mentioned a number of adverse effects after vaccination. They cited flu-like symptoms and stroke-like symptoms, achiness, debilitating pain and other side effects they believe to have been the result of mRNA vaccines. Some of the experts said it wasn’t possible to know the risk-benefit assessment of the vaccines at the time they were released to the public, and several speakers criticized Pfizer and Moderna for an alleged lack of transparency.
Most medical experts continue to argue the vaccines are generally safe and help reduce risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Many reports of severe side effects or death have been unverified or misrepresented, although cases of severe adverse reactions have been confirmed in some individuals.
Pfizer emailed a statement to the Daily Caller in response to the announcement by DeSantis. “Regulatory agencies across the world have authorized the use of our COVID-19 vaccine. 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 company said.
“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. As of November 27th, 2022, we have delivered 4.3 billion vaccines to 181 countries and territories in every region of the world.”
Moderna did not respond to a request for comment.