The state of Kansas is suing Pfizer for violating the state's Consumer Protection Act, allegedly misleading the public about false claims about its COVID-19 vaccine.
The state filed the lawsuit in the District Court of Thomas County, Kansas, which now seeks unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief for deceiving the public at a critical time when Americans needed the truth, according to Attorney General Kris Kobach. The complaint claims that Pfizer deliberately failed to disclose essential facts about its COVID-19 vaccine, which were particularly harmful for pregnant individuals and people with heart conditions.
The Vaccine's Danger For Pregnant Women
A previous study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April 2021 provided initial findings suggesting no significant safety concerns among pregnant individuals who received mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and that miscarriages were unlikely to be directly caused by the vaccine. However, another study published in February 2022 found that the percentage of adverse events, encompassing any negative reactions, was approximately 17% higher among pregnant women than the general population.
Despite being marketed as safe for pregnant women, 458 pregnant women who received Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine experienced adverse events, with more than half reporting such events and over 10% reporting miscarriages, according to a February 2021 report.
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Pfizer's Vaccine Triggering Heart Complications
Pfizer's vaccines were also promoted as safe concerning heart conditions like myocarditis and pericarditis. Kobach pointed to a question posed to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in January 2023 about whether the vaccine caused severe myocarditis. Bourla responded that they had not observed any such signal despite distributing billions of doses.
According to the CDC, instances of myocarditis and pericarditis caused by the COVID-19 vaccine are rare, with most patients experiencing symptom resolution by the time of hospital discharge.
Pfizer's Effectiveness Against Other Variants
Kobach also alleges that Pfizer's vaccines were marketed as effective against COVID-19 variants despite data available at the time indicating that they were effective less than half the time.
Pfizer's Effectiveness in Preventing Transmission
While Pfizer encouraged Americans to get vaccinated under the implication that its COVID-19 vaccine halted transmission, it later acknowledged it had never studied transmission post-vaccination.
On the other hand, Pfizer asserts that its COVID-19 vaccine has saved numerous lives and that its claims about the vaccine were accurate and based on scientific evidence, believing the state's lawsuit lacks merit.
Kansas was the first state to file a lawsuit of this nature, with five other states expecting to join the legal action independently. According to Kobach, that will depend on Pfizer's reaction.
The first lawsuit against Pfizer was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2023 for alleged misrepresentation of the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine and attempts to suppress public discourse about the product that was also filed under the state's Consumer Protection Act.
The case is filed in Thomas County, a decision Kobach explained as motivated by a desire to select a venue with a lighter caseload, ensuring adequate time to address the matter.
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