Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton has sued Pfizer for allegedly misrepresenting the effectiveness of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine and attempting to censor public discussion of the product.A Thursday press release from the AG alleged “Pfizer engaged in false, deceptive and misleading acts and practices by making unsupported claims regarding the company’s COVID-19 vaccine in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.“The pharmaceutical company's widespread representation that its vaccine possessed 95% efficacy against infection was highly misleading. That metric represented a calculation of the so-called ‘relative risk reduction’ for vaccinated individuals in Pfizer’s initial, two-month clinical trial results.”The AG alleges the “relative risk reduction” in Pfizer documents is a misleading statistic that “unduly influence[s]” consumer choice. “Pfizer was also put on notice at that time that vaccine protection could not accurately be predicted beyond two months. Nevertheless, Pfizer fostered a misleading impression that vaccine protection was durable and withheld from the public information that undermined its claims about the duration of protection." "And, despite the fact that its clinical trial failed to measure whether the vaccine protects against transmission, Pfizer embarked on a campaign to intimidate the public into getting the vaccine as a necessary measure to protect their loved ones,” the release explains.The AG office said the Pfizer product “failed to live up to the company’s representations” as “COVID-19 cases increased after widespread vaccine administration and some areas saw a greater percentage of deaths from COVID-19 among the vaccinated population than the unvaccinated. When the failure of its product became apparent, Pfizer then pivoted to silencing truth-tellers.”The 54-page lawsuit asks, “How did Pfizer respond when it became apparent that its vaccine was failing and the viability of its cash cow was threatened? By intimidating those spreading the truth and by conspiring to censor its critics. Pfizer labeled as ‘criminals’ those who spread facts about the vaccine. It accused them of spreading ‘misinformation.’ And it coerced social media platforms to silence prominent truth-tellers.”Paxton said the state is standing up for its citizens.“We are pursuing justice for the people of Texas, many of whom were coerced by tyrannical vaccine mandates to take a defective product sold by lies,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The facts are clear. Pfizer did not tell the truth about their COVID-19 vaccines. Whereas the Biden Administration weaponized the pandemic to force illegal public health decrees on the public and enrich pharmaceutical companies, I will use every tool I have to protect our citizens who were misled and harmed by Pfizer’s actions.”On May 1, Paxton announced an investigation into Pfizer and other vaccine manufacturers earlier this year. This resulted in other legal action prior to today’s lawsuit.On November 20, Paxton sued Pfizer and Tris Pharma for allegations they defrauded Medicaid and provided adulterated pharmaceutical drugs to children. Pfizer contracted with Tris to produce Quillivant XR, an ADHD medication for children. The lawsuit alleges Tris altered the drug’s testing method in violation of federal and state laws and misrepresented this to ensure Quillivant passed regulatory hurdles and could continue to be sold. As a result, Pfizer and Tris obtained the benefit of taxpayer-funded Medicaid reimbursement for Quillivant. “From 2012 to 2018, Pfizer and Tris continually manipulated Quillivant testing to hide poor manufacturing practices and defraud the Texas Medicaid program. During this time, many families complained the medication failed to work,” the press release said.“I am horrified by the dishonesty we uncovered in this investigation,” said Paxton, adding, “Our Civil Medicaid Fraud Division has done an outstanding job holding these pharmaceutical companies accountable.” The lawsuit was initially filed under seal, but the judge has since unsealed the petition at the Attorney General's request. To read the unsealed petition, click here.On November 20, Paxton also opened an investigation into Media Matters, saying he was “extremely troubled by the allegations that Media Matters, a radical anti-free speech organization, fraudulently manipulated data on X.com.”“We are examining the issue closely to ensure the public has not been deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing organizations who would like nothing more than to limit freedom by reducing participation in the public square,” said Paxton.
