Federal Government’s Handling of Vaccine Approvals Favors Pharmaceutical Companies Over Consumers

FLORIDA - In January 2025, the Florida grand jury report scrutinized the development, promotion, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, shedding light on both the efficacy and safety concerns raised throughout the pandemic. However, it did not bring forth the answers requested by Governor DeSantis to investigate  "criminal or wrongful activity in Florida relating to the development, promotion, and distribution of vaccines purported to prevent COVID-19 infection, symptoms, and transmission."  The 140-page document, based on an eighteen-month investigation, outlines the grand jury’s findings regarding vaccine trials, regulatory practices, and the relationship between pharmaceutical companies and federal agencies.

Commissioned by Governor Ron DeSantis, the report aimed to determine whether pharmaceutical companies engaged in fraudulent practices when promoting COVID-19 vaccines. While the jury did not uncover evidence of criminal activity, it highlighted troubling patterns of deceptive behavior and unethical conduct by vaccine sponsors and regulators. Despite this, the report states that federal agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Center for Disease Control (CDC).

Over 40 expert witnesses, including public health professionals, physicians, and epidemiologists, contributed to the grand jury’s findings. Key concerns raised in the report include issues related to the transparency of vaccine data, safety monitoring, and the lack of a clear, reliable set of criteria for studying long COVID. The jury also criticized the federal government’s handling of the vaccine approval process, with specific focus on the legal protections granted to vaccine manufacturers, which they argue favor pharmaceutical companies over consumers.

The grand jury’s report also pointed to the collaboration between federal regulators and vaccine manufacturers, with concerns that such partnerships led to misleading statements about vaccine safety. However, despite finding these issues, the report concludes that no criminal actions were committed. The investigation found that, while the actions of pharmaceutical companies may have been questionable, they remained within the boundaries of existing law.

The grand jury’s recommendations urge significant changes in vaccine development and oversight, particularly in how federal agencies interact with pharmaceutical companies. The report emphasizes the need for better protection of public safety and calls for a reevaluation of legal frameworks that currently shield vaccine manufacturers from liability.

While the investigation did not result in criminal indictments, it underscores the importance of transparency, ethical practices, and the need for systemic reforms in vaccine development and regulation. The grand jury’s findings offer a blueprint for addressing the balance of power between regulators, pharmaceutical companies, and the public, advocating for a more accountable and consumer-centered approach moving forward.

   We need new clinical trials of BNT162b2 & MRNA-1273 to update the relationship between clinical results and surrogate endpoints.

   The FDA should reinstate its pre-1997 ban on the direct-to-consumer advertising of therapeutics.

   The federal government should adopt some framework impeding the "revolving door" of private-sector employees and lobbyists in and out of the FDA, CDC and National Institutes of Health (NIH).

   The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) should be restructured to determine the scope of approvals and authorizations it votes on for itself, and those votes should be binding.

   Sponsors of pharmaceutical products should be required to publish the anonymized individual patient data-with all their attendant safety, efficacy and immunogenicity information-shortly after granting of any FDA license.

   Sponsors should be required to publicly disclose safety signals upon verification-not just confirmation.

   Sponsors who do not comply with data transparency requirements should not be allowed to retain federal legal immunity.

   Grand jury process: 

     Chapter 905 should be amended to include a pre-swearing discovery period for the Statewide Grand Jury.

     Failure to comply with Statewide Grand Jury Subpoenas should be a crime.

     Perjury before the Statewide Grand Jury should be indictable by the Statewide Grand Jury and prosecutable by the Office of Statewide Prosecution. 

     Florida should adopt more widespread monitoring of wastewater for pathogens of interest. - Florida law already requires wastewater treatment facilities to monitor their influent for various contaminants, including coliform bacteria. Monitoring wastewater for pathogens would facilitate the kind of targeted, science-driven public health that Floridians expect and deserve. Therefore, we recommend that Florida wastewater treatment facilities be required to monitor and report on identified pathogens of interest. 

Read the entire report here.