Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into Covid jab manufacturers on Monday to uncover whether these companies conducted gain-of-function research or misled the public about the efficacy of the experimental shots.
“The development of the Covid-19 vaccine, and the representations made by and knowledge of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, are of profound interest to the public’s health and welfare. This investigation aims to discover the truth,” said Paxton in a statement. “If any company illegally took advantage of consumers during this period or compromised people’s safety to increase their profits, they will be held responsible.”
According to a press release, Paxton’s investigation will look into whether the aforementioned pharmaceutical companies violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by intentionally misleading the public about the shot’s effectiveness in preventing human-to-human transmission of the virus. The inquiry will also examine “potential manipulation of vaccine trial data.”
“This investigation concerns potentially fraudulent activity that falls outside the scope of legal immunity granted to manufacturers of the Covid-19 vaccine,” the press release reads. “It will also review the companies’ controversial practice of reporting the metric of ‘relative risk reduction’ instead of ‘absolute risk reduction’ when publicly discussing the efficacy of their vaccines.”
Paxton has since sent civil investigative demand letters to Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, requiring each company to hand over any and all documents related to his inquiry.
“The catastrophic effects of the pandemic and subsequent interventions forced on our country and citizens deserve intense scrutiny, and we are pursuing any hint of wrongdoing to the fullest,” Paxton said.
Paxton’s Monday announcement makes Texas the second state to launch an investigation into potential malfeasance by the shot’s manufacturers. In December, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to appoint a grand jury to “investigate any and all wrongdoing” by said companies. Florida’s highest court ultimately approved the request later that same month.
Two months prior in October, the office of Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo had updated its guidance on the Covid shots to include recommendations against 18–39-year-old males receiving the jab due to an increased risk of cardio-related death. The department issued similar guidance in March 2022, which advised against giving the jabs to children under 18 due to the “[l]imited risk of severe illness” posed by the virus, the “[h]igh prevalence of existing immunity,” and the risk of myocarditis, among others.
Countries such as Germany, France, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway have also recommended against “the distribution of the Moderna Covid shots for individuals under the age of 30,” with all of them “citing the documented risk of heart inflammation among young people as justification.”
