Congress refuses to investigate FDA's failure to look into claims that Pfizer falsified COVID vaccine trial data
By arseniotoledo // 2021-11-16
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Congress is still refusing to open an investigation over the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) failure to look into claims that Big Pharma company Pfizer falsified its phase III Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine trial data. Prestigious and peer-reviewed medical journal BMJ recently published an investigation on Ventavia, a contract clinical research company that conducted stage three COVID-19 vaccine trials for Pfizer. It found out that Ventavia most likely cut corners to get data to Pfizer more quickly. This resulted in data being falsified, trial facilitators ignoring double-blind rules and clinic employees ignoring adverse effects experienced by patients following vaccinations.  (Related: Whistleblower: Pfizer vaccine trial data was falsified, participants who experienced adverse effects were ignored.) "Staff who conducted quality control checks were overwhelmed by the volume of problems they were finding," wrote Brook Jackson, a former Ventavia employee who became a whistleblower for the BMJ's investigation. She was fired for trying to contact the FDA, which never  responded to her concerns.. Pfizer's vaccine was approved by the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC). On Oct. 26, it gave Pfizer an emergency use authorization for the distribution of its vaccines for children aged 5 through 11. This happened nearly a year after Jackson first notified the FDA about her findings. Since then, the FDA still has not opened an investigation into Ventavia's falsification of trial data. Congress has also so far not opened any kind of inquiry into the FDA's unwillingness to properly verify Pfizer's trial data. "VRBPAC committee members have extensive ties with the same drug companies that manufacture the vaccines they vote on," said Mary Holland, president and general counsel for Children's Health Defense. "It's obvious from their voting records that their allegiance is to Pharma and not to the health of our nation's children."

Big Pharma supports lawmakers

According to an analysis conducted earlier this year by health news website STAT, 72 senators and 302 members of the House of Representatives cashed a check from the pharmaceutical industry ahead of the 2020 election. Pfizer's political action committee alone gave money to 228 lawmakers. This means that Pfizer helped fund the campaigns of nearly half of all lawmakers in Washington, D.C. Overall, the pharmaceutical industry gave more than $14 million to Congress in the election cycle. Pfizer is Congress' largest Big Pharma contributor, having given legislators over $1.3 million. In addition to giving over a million dollars to members of Congress, Pfizer also made contributions to 1,048 individual candidates who were running for seats in their respective state legislatures. At least 24 other Big Pharma companies gave out contributions to the campaigns of legislators. Of those, two are also known for their COVID-19 vaccines – Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. The former gave $657,000 and the latter gave $455,000. A large portion of Big Pharma's contributions to Congress went to members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health. This subcommittee is very influential and oversees a large share of healthcare and pharmaceutics-related legislation in Congress. Republican Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina is the single largest recipient of money from Big Pharma. Major drug industry groups gave $139,500 to his campaign. Hudson is a member of the Health subcommittee. Others who ranked near the top in terms of drug company contributions include Democratic Reps. Kurt Schrader of Oregon, Robin Kelly of Illinois and subcommittee chair Anna Eshoo of California. In the Senate, industry allies like Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware were among the top recipients of Big Pharma money. "The breadth of the spending highlights the drug industry's continued clout in Washington," wrote STAT Washington, D.C. correspondent Lev Facher. "Even after years of criticism from Congress and the White House over high prices, it remains routine for the elected officials who regulate the healthcare industry to accept six-figure sums." Not only has Big Pharma contributions essentially prevented the passage of any kind of legislation lowering drug prices. It has also allowed Big Pharma companies like Pfizer to keep experimenting on children with its rushed and deadly COVID-19 vaccines. Now, Pfizer is asking the FDA to approve COVID-19 vaccine booster doses for all adults in the United States. Pfizer isn't even waiting for the full results of its study on booster doses before asking for full approval. Instead, the company is submitting early results of a study in 10,000 people. With most of Congress receiving money from Pfizer and other Big Pharma companies, lawmakers are unlikely to question the results of this study. Learn more about how Big Pharma companies like Pfizer influence Congress by reading the latest articles at Corruption.news. Sources include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org STATNews.com WPRI.com
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