Benzinga - by Vandana Singh, Benzinga Editor.
The state of Kansas has reportedly filed a lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE:PFE), accusing the company of violating consumer protection laws related to its COVID-19 vaccine.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach argues that Pfizer marketed the vaccine as “safe” despite allegedly knowing it was linked to serious adverse events.
Citing the 69-page lawsuit submitted to the District Court of Thomas County, Fox Business highlights that Pfizer misled the public by claiming its COVID-19 vaccine was safe and effective.
Also Read: European Patent Office Sides with Moderna In COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Dispute With Pfizer/BioNTech.
The suit contends that the company was aware of significant safety risks, such as myocarditis, pericarditis, failed pregnancies, and deaths, yet chose to conceal this information.
Despite knowing the vaccine’s efficacy waned over time and that it did not protect against COVID-19 variants, Pfizer allegedly hid this critical effectiveness information from the public.
Kobach’s suit asserts that Pfizer’s actions and statements about its COVID-19 vaccine violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.
According to the lawsuit, the company’s misrepresentations helped it achieve record revenues of approximately $75 billion in two years.
The suit highlights that over 3.3 million Pfizer vaccine doses were administered in Kansas as of February 7, 2024, accounting for more than 60% of all doses in the state.
Furthermore, the lawsuit accuses Pfizer of using various methods to conceal vaccine safety and effectiveness data. These include confidentiality agreements, extended timelines, and the destruction of the control group from its vaccine trials, making it difficult to compare the vaccine’s safety and efficacy against unvaccinated individuals.
Additionally, Kobach alleges that Pfizer maintained a separate adverse events database that contained more comprehensive data than the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.
This database purportedly included spontaneous reports to Pfizer, health authority reports, medical literature cases, and data from Pfizer-sponsored programs.
Price Action: PFE shares are down 2.16% at $26.94 at last check Monday.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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