In what's shaping up to be a legal showdown in Texas, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking a swing at Big Pharma by suing Pfizer over what he claims are exaggerated effectiveness claims about its COVID-19 vaccine. Paxton's legal move has sent ripples through the healthcare community, with many intimating this could be more about political posturing than public health.
BREAKING:🚨 I am suing Pfizer for misrepresenting Covid-19 vaccine efficacy and conspiring to censor public discourse. pic.twitter.com/63mZ1y6FNC
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) November 30, 2023
Filed in the welcoming conservative terrains of Lubbock state district court, Paxton, known for his headline-making legal crusades, accuses Pfizer of engaging in fleece dressed as fact, alleging the Giant had "[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", a hard-hitting statement shared with X, as reported by The Guardian.
Texas Department of State Health Services data shows unvaccinated Texans were "11x more likely to die of a COVID-19 associated illness" than those fully jabbed, a fact Paxton conveniently overlooked, according to Austin American Statesman.
The suit also aims to gag Pfizer from spouting any more of what Paxton deems to be efficacy fibs. As if to thumb the eye of science, the suit comes hot on the heels of Pfizer’s commendation for its shot, which, according to their statement, "has been administered to 1.5 billion people and helped protect against severe COVID-19 outcomes, including hospitalization and death." A claim supported by a truckload of data, yet finding itself on Paxton's chopping block, Paxton himself told a conservative radio host, the vaccine "may have been, and it looks like it was, not effective at all", as per Austin American Statesman.
