Texas Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Sues Pfiz­er for Mis­rep­re­sent­ing COVID-19 Vac­cine Effi­ca­cy and Con­spir­ing to Cen­sor Pub­lic Discourse

[Red Phoenix]

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Pfizer, Inc., for unlawfully misrepresenting the effectiveness of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine and attempting to censor public discussion of the product.

 

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.

 

(more)

 

To read the petition, click here.

 

Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-pfizer-misrepresenting-covid-19-vaccine-efficacy-and-conspiring

[Ben Zioner]

Texas...

 

But is will be an interesting case to follow.

[Red Phoenix]

The 54 (!) page plaintiff petition provided to the Honorable District Judge for his consideration is not the usual legal mumbo-jumbo but is a truly awesome and easily readable factual and evidence-based overview of Pfizer misrepresenting the efficacy of its product.

Here is the link (a PDF download) > https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Pfizer Vaccine Petition Filed.pdf.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A dedicated public servant ( ), let off the hook (for now) by his fellow Republican elected officials... 

 

Republican Texas AG Ken Paxton is acquitted of corruption charges at historic impeachment trial

 

September 17, 2023

 

"AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was fully acquitted Saturday of corruption charges in a historic impeachment trial, a resounding verdict that reaffirms the power of the GOP’s hard right and puts an indicted incumbent who remains under FBI investigation back into office.

 

The outcome demonstrated Paxton’s lasting durability in America’s biggest red state after years of criminal charges and scandal.

...

The outcome far from ends Paxton’s troubles. He still faces trial on felony securities fraud charges, remains under a separate FBI investigation and is in jeopardy of losing his ability to practice law in Texas because of his baseless attempts to overturn the 2020 election."

 

https://apnews.com/article/ken-paxton-impeachment-texas-871fb9c57b38fbda5bec5c2e5f280755

 

[jaywalker2]

Dumb suit. Nothing was misrepresented in the trial report Pfizer issued. The methodology and results were clearly stated.  How the media portrayed the results is another matter but not something Pfizer could be held legally liable for I would think.

 

Paxton, of course, just survived an impeachment trial and is emeshed in an ongoing securities fraud trial and has been accused of blatant corruption and malfeasance in office.  Nevertheless, the suit should play well with his constituents in Texas.

[Red Phoenix]

14 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

A dedicated public servant ( ), let off the hook (for now) by his fellow Republican elected officials... 

 

Republican Texas AG Ken Paxton is acquitted of corruption charges at historic impeachment trial

 

September 17, 2023

 

"AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was fully acquitted Saturday of corruption charges in a historic impeachment trial, a resounding verdict that reaffirms the power of the GOP’s hard right and puts an indicted incumbent who remains under FBI investigation back into office.

 

The outcome demonstrated Paxton’s lasting durability in America’s biggest red state after years of criminal charges and scandal.

...

The outcome far from ends Paxton’s troubles. He still faces trial on felony securities fraud charges, remains under a separate FBI investigation and is in jeopardy of losing his ability to practice law in Texas because of his baseless attempts to overturn the 2020 election."

 

https://apnews.com/article/ken-paxton-impeachment-texas-871fb9c57b38fbda5bec5c2e5f280755

 

~

This thread is not about Ken Paxton's legal troubles, but about Pfizer being sued by the Texas Attorney General for

1 - unlawfully misrepresenting the effectiveness of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine and

2 - attempting to censor public discussion of the product.

Do remain on topic instead of deflecting.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Readers deserve to be informed of the character and credibility (which is virtually nil) of the person bringing these allegations...

[Red Phoenix]

24 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Readers deserve to be informed of the character and credibility (which is virtually nill) of the person bringing these allegations...

~

This is only one of the many court-cases against Pfizer (as well as Moderna) that are in the making or already underway/ongoing.

There is a reason that the share-value of both companies is now way lower than before the pandemic, and this despite the fact that both made billions of $ with their covid-19 vax contracts to governments. 

The financial markets are not so confident as you seem to be, that both companies will survive the outcome of these court-cases.

Imo they deserve to both go bankrupt and the culpable serving long jail-sentences with all their ill-gained profits confiscated.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Well, I guess they'll have to go up against findings like these:

 

Two Years of U.S. COVID-19 Vaccines Have Prevented Millions of Hospitalizations and Deaths

 

"From December 2020 through November 2022, we estimate that the COVID-19 vaccination program in the U.S. prevented more than 18.5 million additional hospitalizations and 3.2 million additional deaths. Without vaccination, there would have been nearly 120 million more COVID-19 infections. The vaccination program also saved the U.S. $1.15 trillion (Credible Interval: $1.10 trillion–$1.19 trillion) (data not shown) in medical costs that would otherwise have been incurred."

 

 

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2022/two-years-covid-vaccines-prevented-millions-deaths-hospitalizations

 

And this:

COVID vaccines saved 20M lives in 1st year, scientists say

June 24, 2022

 

"Nearly 20 million lives [worldwide] were saved by COVID-19 vaccines during their first year, but even more deaths could have been prevented if international targets for the shots had been reached, researchers reported Thursday.

...

The researchers used data from 185 countries to estimate that vaccines prevented 4.2 million COVID-19 deaths in India, 1.9 million in the United States, 1 million in Brazil, 631,000 in France and 507,000 in the United Kingdom.

 

An additional 600,000 deaths would have been prevented if the World Health Organization target of 40% vaccination coverage by the end of 2021 had been met, according to the study published Thursday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases."

 

https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-england-54d29ae3af5c700f15d704c14ee224b5

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Texas and Florida... leading the political right-wing anti-vax movement in the U.S.:

How lawmakers in Texas and Florida undermine Covid vaccination efforts

State legislatures and politicians are pressuring public health officials to keep quiet about Covid vaccines.

 

Nov. 7, 2023

 

...

"A rule added to Texas’ budget that went into effect Sept. 1 forbids health departments and other organizations funded by the state government to advertise, recommend, or even list covid vaccines alone. “Clinics may inform patients that COVID-19 vaccinations are available,” the rule allows, “if it is not being singled out from other vaccines.”

...

As in Florida, the Texas health department initially promoted Covid vaccines, warning that Texans who weren’t vaccinated were about 20 times as likely to suffer a Covid-associated death. Such sentiments faded last year, as state leaders passed policies to block vaccine mandates and other public health measures. The latest is a prohibition against the use of government funds to promote Covid vaccines."

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/lawmakers-texas-florida-undermine-covid-vaccination-efforts-rcna123866

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The Republican elected officials in Texas (Paxton included) should be proud of themselves....

 

They've succeeded admirably in helping Texas have one of the highest per capita COVID death rates (top 10) among all states since the start of the pandemic...

 

While at the same time, leaving Texas with among the lowest rates of COVID vaccination with the new monovalent COVID vaccines.

 

Per the U.S. CDC:

 

Provisional COVID-19 Death Rate per 100,000 Population (Age-Adjusted) Reported to the CDC, by State/Territory – United States

 

"This shows the number of deaths since January 1, 2020 for every 100,000 people, allowing for comparisons between areas with different population sizes and age distributions."

 

The chart excerpt below shows states ranked from highest to lowest for per capita COVID deaths, with the graphic showing just the top end of the full chart listing 50 states.

 

 

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#maps_deaths-rate-total

 

 

And regarding vaccination rates with the newest COVID vaccine, compared to the latest nationwide rate for adults of 15.7%:

 

 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/covidvaxview/interactive/adult-coverage-vaccination.html

 

Compared to other states from the same source above:

 

TOP:

Vermont -- 33.2%

Dist of Columbia -- 30.1%

Minnesota -- 26.8%

Massachusetts -- 26.7%

Colorado -- 23.1%

 

BOTTOM:

Mississippi - 5.4%

Louisiana -- 8.2%

Florida -- 8.3%

Alabama -- 10%

West Virginia -- 10.4%

 

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/covidvaxview/interactive/adult-coverage-vaccination.html

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And just to give some voice to Paxton's accused:

 

"In a statement, Pfizer said its representations about its vaccine have been "accurate and science-based," and that it believed Paxton's lawsuit had no merit.

 

Pfizer also said its vaccine has "demonstrated a favorable safety profile in all age groups, and helped protect against severe COVID-19 outcomes, including hospitalization and death."

 

Infectious disease experts have said relative risk reduction is a more meaningful way to judge a vaccine's efficacy than absolute risk reduction. Relative risk shows how well a vaccine protects recipients relative to a study's control group."

 

https://www.reuters.com/legal/pfizer-is-sued-by-texas-over-covid-19-vaccine-claims-2023-11-30/

 

AND

 

"A Pfizer spokesperson told Forbes “the company believes that the state’s case has no merit and will respond to the petition in court in due course.”

Contra

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the vaccine effectiveness at reducing symptomatic cases was around 92.4%, and around 94.3% for preventing hospitalization, according to a 2021 assessment. Efficacy did drop from the original 95% figure given by Pfizer, but largely after more variants of Covid that the vaccine wasn’t created to protect against began to circulate.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have continued to recommend Pfizer’s vaccine and call it effective, and the World Health Organization has said Pfzier’s vaccine has “very high efficacy against severe disease and moderate efficacy against symptomatic” cases."

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/11/30/texas-ag-sues-pfizer-over-covid-vaccine-effectiveness/?sh=6db52ea514fb

 

[eisfeld]

The guy is an extreme-right nutter and anti-vaxxer. He's brought and failed with literally dozens of court cases against the Biden administration. Now he has a court case against himself for securities fraud and there are plenty of allegations against him for other crimes. Even his own republicans supported an impeachement against him because of these and he got suspended from office for several months. Read the statements in the case he is bringing against Pfizer. No reputable AG would write something like that. It's just a matter of time before he's going down hard.

 

(cross-posting from the other duplicate thread as it was closed)

[QuantumQuandry]

4 hours ago, Red Phoenix said:

There is a reason that the share-value of both companies is now way lower than before the pandemic

 

Yes, there is a reason.  Not sure why you think it's the lawsuits, though...

 

"Pfizer (PFE) stock continued its 11-month decline in November after its third-quarter sales missed expectations amid waning demand for Covid products." : https://www.investors.com/news/technology/pfizer-stock-buy-now/

 

 

[mohlite]

21 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Provisional COVID-19 Death Rate per 100,000 Population (Age-Adjusted) Reported to the CDC, by State/Territory – United States

Provisional counts, it matters where you source your misinformation from. As per NY times, Texas consistently ranks below all national covid metrics and much better than the majority of states on covid case, death rates per 100K.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html

 

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by mohlite

[mohlite]

18 hours ago, eisfeld said:

The guy is an extreme-right nutter and anti-vaxxer. He's brought and failed with literally dozens of court cases against the Biden administration. Now he has a court case against himself for securities fraud and there are plenty of allegations against him for other crimes. Even his own republicans supported an impeachement against him because of these and he got suspended from office for several months. Read the statements in the case he is bringing against Pfizer. No reputable AG would write something like that. It's just a matter of time before he's going down hard.

 

(cross-posting from the other duplicate thread as it was closed)

Like this one:

 

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/paxton-victorious-against-biden-administration-federal-government-must-follow-deportation-law

 

"“For the time being, it seems like Paxton is as important as the [federal government] in deciding what immigration policy is implemented these days,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law practice at Cornell Law School."

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2022/12/02/texas-ag-ken-paxtons-lawsuits-stymie-biden-agenda-on-immigration-and-healthcare/

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by mohlite

[mohlite]

Repeat offender status, expect more record fines if convicted.

 

 

http://www.allgov.com/news/where-is-the-money-going/pfizer-to-pay-largest-criminal-fine-in-history?news=839502

Edited December 2, 2023 by mohlite

[eisfeld]

2 hours ago, mohlite said:

Like this one:

 

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/paxton-victorious-against-biden-administration-federal-government-must-follow-deportation-law

 

"“For the time being, it seems like Paxton is as important as the [federal government] in deciding what immigration policy is implemented these days,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law practice at Cornell Law School."

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2022/12/02/texas-ag-ken-paxtons-lawsuits-stymie-biden-agenda-on-immigration-and-healthcare/

 

 

Missing the point. I didn't claim he failed with all of them. Look at the number of cases he brought. He's like a sueing machine against the other poltical side. He brought more than 50 cases against the administration...

[KhunLA]

On 12/1/2023 at 10:12 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Readers deserve to be informed of the character and credibility (which is virtually nil) of the person bringing these allegations...

Who apparently hasn't be convicted of anything ... innocent till proven guilty.

 

"Ken Paxton is acquitted of corruption charges"

 

So he's someone who would rather stand & fight, rather than being silenced 👍

Edited December 2, 2023 by KhunLA

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, mohlite said:

Provisional counts, it matters where you source your misinformation from. As per NY times, Texas consistently ranks below all national covid metrics and much better than the majority of states on covid

 

Just because the NYT has a different tally/ranking than the CDC doesn't mean the CDC tally is wrong... And in fact, it's just the opposite. The CDC data is more up-to-date, more accurate, and they are the official record keeper of such things for the U.S.

 

Specifically, for starters, as the NYT webpage clearly shows but your post failed to make clear, they stopped updating their state info in March 2023, whereas the CDC data has continued to be updated thru current time, meaning the NYT data you posted is incomplete and eight months out-of-date:

 

 

 

And indeed, if you dig into the data, the CDC thus not surprisingly has HIGHER/LARGER COVID death count totals for the U.S. overall and Texas individually than the numbers used by the NYT, as follows:

 

From the CDC spreadsheet file supporting their COVID deaths state rankings:

 

 

versus the NYT tally for Texas:

 

 

Thus, the CDC is counting 8,696 additional COVID deaths for Texas that the NYT isn't counting -- the difference between the CDC Texas number of 103,214 and the out-of-date NYT number of 94,518.

 

Just as the CDC's cumulative COVID deaths tally for the U.S. is 1,156,484 versus the 1,135,343 tally reported by the NYT, meaning the NYT once again has an undercount of 21,141 COVID deaths nationally.

 

In short, the CDC data is a more complete, accurate and up-to-date counting than that from the NYT... not to mention, it's also the CDC and the related National Center for Health Statistics that keep the official records of such things for the U.S.

 

-------------------------------------

 

Then, as for the differences in where the two sources list Texas in the rankings of per capita COVID deaths, apart from the NYT data being eight months out of date, the following may be another factor in that particular variation.

 

As clearly listed in my original report above of the CDC rankings and data on per capita COVID deaths by state,  those rates are AGE ADJUSTED, allowing more meaningful state to state comparisons. And that is the standard and preferred method of making such comparisons.

 

From all indications, the NYT is just using raw data and not adjusting for age differences between the different state populations. The CDC is, as the headline of their chart clearly shows:

 

Provisional COVID-19 Death Rate per 100,000 Population (Age-Adjusted) Reported to the CDC, by State/Territory – United States

 

From the CDC:

 

Death Data 

 

"Rates were age-adjusted to the 2000 standard population using the direct method (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-08-508.pdf)."

 

And using age adjusted data is the standard means of making such comparisons across different geographic areas such as states, as the CDC explains below:

 

"Age-adjusted death rates also are better indicators of relative risk when comparing mortality across geographic areas or between sex or race subgroups of the population that have different age distributions."

 

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-08-508.pdf

 

And from elsewhere on that point from other sources:

Age-adjusted Rates

"Age adjusting rates allows fairer comparisons to be made between groups with different age distributions...

 

The age-adjusted rates are rates that would have existed if the population under study had the same age distribution as the "standard" population. Therefore, they are summary measures adjusted for differences in age distributions."

 

https://health.mo.gov/data/documentation/crude-aarate.php

 

---------------------------

What is age-adjustment?

"Age-adjustment is a statistical process applied to rates of disease, death, injuries or other health outcomes which allows communities with different age structures to be compared.

Why do we do age-adjustment?

"Almost all diseases or health outcomes occur at different rates in different age groups. Most chronic diseases, including most cancers, occur more often among older people.... Age-adjustment is a statistical way to remove confounding caused by age."

 

https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/chronic/ageadj.htm

 

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, mohlite said:

Repeat offender status, expect more record fines if convicted.

 

Maybe you missed this... But Paxton's case is a civil lawsuit, not a criminal proceeding. There are no convictions in civil cases, and thus no "repeat offender status" involved.

 

"Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Pfizer, Inc."

 

[eisfeld]

8 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Who apparently hasn't be convicted of anything ... innocent till proven guilty.

 

"Ken Paxton is acquitted of corruption charges"

 

So he's someone who would rather stand & fight, rather than being silenced 👍

 

Someone that likes to fight for sure :) He hasn't been acquitted of all charges. There are plenty more allegations by former staffers like bribery and organized crime. He's being prosecuted for state securities fraud currently. A state attorney should not be facing multiple court cases against himself. Even the State Bar of Texas is sueing Paxon for unethical behaviour and multiple attorneys are trying to remove him from practicing law. He seems like a textbook "bad cop".

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, eisfeld said:

He hasn't been acquitted of all charges.

 

Of course, Paxton was only acquitted by fellow Republican state Senators in Texas in an impeachment case that the state House members from both parties originally had brought against him. To convict him would have required a two-thirds Senate vote in the Republican-controlled state Senate, which didn't happen. All the other pending legal actions against Paxton remain.

 

Kinda similar to how U.S. Senate Republicans, by blocking the required two-third majority votes, acquitted fellow Republican Donald Trump in his two impeachment proceedings. But what then ensued thereafter was the filing of 91 felony counts in four separate now-pending criminal cases.

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

"Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was impeached on May 27, becoming the state's first statewide official to be impeached since 1917."

...

"The impeachment also underlines the conflict between Paxton and a number of other Republicans, many of whom voted in the state House for his impeachment."

 

...the House voted to impeach Paxton in a bipartisan 121-23 majority vote."

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeached-controversy/story?id=99826087

 

Even a lot of his fellow Republican lawmakers in the Republican controlled House considered him guilty and wanted him out.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[rabas]

On 12/1/2023 at 10:40 AM, Red Phoenix said:

There is a reason that the share-value of both companies is now way lower than before the pandemic,

 

Moderna share price Jan 1 2020 (just after SARS-2 outbreak)  $18.89. Yesterday Dec 1 2023 $78.89. 

 

What ever happened to facts folks?

[Skipalongcassidy]

28 minutes ago, rabas said:

 

Moderna share price Jan 1 2020 (just after SARS-2 outbreak)  $18.89. Yesterday Dec 1 2023 $78.89. 

 

What ever happened to facts folks?

"FACTS"... the liberal left doesn't need "facts"

[Red Phoenix]

1 hour ago, rabas said:

 

Moderna share price Jan 1 2020 (just after SARS-2 outbreak)  $18.89. Yesterday Dec 1 2023 $78.89. 

 

What ever happened to facts folks?

Moderna Stock Looks Sick; Here's How To Take Advantage With Options

Moderna (MRNA) stock has bounced off its 52-week low but still looks incredibly weak and that could provide an opportunity for a bearish option play.

 

According to the IBD Stock Checkup, Moderna stock is ranked No. 165 in its group and has awful ratings. It has a Composite Rating of 6, an EPS Rating of 4 and a Relative Strength Rating of 9.

 

Source: https://www.investors.com/research/options/moderna-stock-looks-sick-heres-how-to-take-advantage-with-options/?src=A00220

~

 

[eisfeld]

@Red Phoenix you are spreading misinformation once again. Modernas stock is at about 4x the price of what it was before the pandemic even after coming down from the high of the pandemic. You conveniently selected only the timeframe of the downward slope and are completely leaving out the upward part. Surely only by accident wink wink nudge nudge.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A bogus new attack on COVID vaccines from Texas' least credible politician

Los Angeles Times

December 6, 2023

 

"In recent times, whenever a government lawsuit swears at common sense, at the facts and at the public interest, it has been a safe bet that Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton has his fingerprints on it.

 

Sure enough, here comes Paxton with a lawsuit charging Pfizer Inc. with systematically misrepresenting the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine and attempting to censor public discussion about it.

...

There's a lot of misinformation and disinformation packed into the 54 pages of Paxton's legal complaint, some of it so nonsensical as to evoke laughter, starting with the fact that the reasons the pandemic got worse after the introduction of COVID vaccines had more to do with policies promoted by Paxton and his political cronies than with Pfizer."

 

(more)

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/column-bogus-attack-covid-vaccines-110023842.html

 

 

 

[novacova]

“Florida surgeon general recommends against mRNA COVID shots, cites discredited theory”

 

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4387662-florida-surgeon-general-recommends-against-mrna-covid-shots-cites-discredited-theory/

 

[Amethyst]

A post from a disallowed social media source has been removed for contravening the forum's Community Standards.

 

"18. Social media content is acceptable in most forums. However in factual areas such as but not limited to news, current affairs and health topics, social media cannot be used unless it is from a credible news media source or a government agency, and must include a link to the original source."