Trump calls on drug companies to 'justify the success' of COVID vaccines

September 1, 2025

 

"Amid turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, President Trump on Monday called on pharmaceutical companies to "justify the success" of their COVID vaccines.

 

"It is very important that the Drug Companies justify the success of their various Covid Drugs. Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree! With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW," Trump wrote on his social media platform.

...

Trump called on the companies to "clear up this MESS, one way or the other!" and said he hoped Operation Warp Speed -- a key achievement of his first term -- was "as 'BRILLIANT' as many say it was."

 

It's unclear what exact data Trump wants the companies to provide. Studies show COVID vaccine programs saved millions of lives during the pandemic."

 

(more)

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-admin-live-updates-trump-urges-companies-to-justify-success-of-covid-drugs/ar-AA1LDEyF

 

 

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

President Trump on Monday called on pharmaceutical companies to "justify the success" of their COVID vaccines.

 

That's not going to sit well with Kennedy, his Minister of Alchemy and Tinfoil Foolery.

Maybe if Trump ever got off of Truth Social and stopped believing RFK Jr., he'd remember and realize what the rest of the thinking world already knows:

 

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

December 13, 2022

 

Findings

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?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

 

AND

 

As the CDC and FDA jointly reported in March 2023:

 

"The most recent estimate is that those who are up to date on their vaccination status have a 9.8 fold lower risk of dying from COVID-19 than those who are unvaccinated and 2.4 fold lower risk of dying from Covid-19 than those who were vaccinated but had not received the updated, bivalent vaccine.

 

Roughly 90% of deaths from COVID-19, as carefully classified by the CDC, in recent months have occurred among those who were not up to date on their vaccines. Furthermore, as stated above, emerging reports indicate a possible reduction in the risk of post-COVID conditions in vaccinated people who survive an infection."

 

https://www.fda.gov/media/166159/download

 

 

@Red Phoenix

 

I have removed your post

 

Please provide a link that substantiates your post.

 

 

2 hours ago, Red Phoenix said:

 

 

Plenty of evidence on the effectiveness is out there already. But what's the point of it, you and other sceptics will deny it anyway. Facts don't matter anymore, opinions do. And the louder they're voiced, the more these opinions are believed.

Has somebody shown The Don some special video footage?

 

Is Kennedy on the way out?

10 minutes ago, Stiddle Mump said:

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

Plenty of evidence on the effectiveness is out there already. But what's the point of it, you and other sceptics will deny it anyway. Facts don't matter anymore, opinions do. And the louder they're voiced, the more these opinions are believed.

There is no evidence that shows the effectiveness of the covid vaxx. Plenty of computer modeling nonsense though.

 

@stevenl - As you said - deny deny deny.

Two posts making unsourced and unsubstantiated purported factual claims have been removed, per the forum's rules.

 

35 minutes ago, Stiddle Mump said:

Has somebody shown The Don some special video footage?

 

Is Kennedy on the way out?

It’s more likely that Big Pharma have reminded someone of ‘donations’ made.

A Google search for anti-vaxxers who died of Covid provides lots of examples of people who laughed at those who took jabs and then died miserably in hospitals.

I don't see arguing about vaccine effectiveness with so many deaths achieves much. Scientific data on Covid vaccine effectiveness is still quite high.

 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10385302/

Chart: How Effective Are The Covid-19 Vaccines? | Statista

 

4 hours ago, stevenl said:

Plenty of evidence on the effectiveness is out there already. But what's the point of it, you and other sceptics will deny it anyway. Facts don't matter anymore, opinions do. And the louder they're voiced, the more these opinions are believed.

Where is this evidence?

 

Are we talking about predictive computer programming?

 

Justify the success......what does that mean?

 

Verify, Confirm, Authenticate, Validate fine......but justify???

 

Contrast that with the Biden FDA that tried to classify the results of pre-EUA testing for 75 years.

 

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Food and Drug Administration asked a federal judge for permission to make the public wait until the year 2096 to disclose all of the data it relied upon to license Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. (That was January, 2022)

 

Why a Judge Ordered FDA to Release Covid-19 Vaccine Data Pronto

 

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/

 

I don't know why anyone would argue against releasing the data that was available at any given time in the process.  In fact, they should be compelling the data, under subpoena if necessary.

 

Edit:  Anyone who wants to know why Americans no longer trust the FDA or CDC need look no further:  the Food and Drug Administration asked a federal judge for permission to make the public wait until the year 2096 to disclose all of the data

4 minutes ago, impulse said:

Contrast that with the Biden FDA that tried to classify the results of pre-EUA testing for 75 years.

 

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Food and Drug Administration asked a federal judge for permission to make the public wait until the year 2096 to disclose all of the data it relied upon to license Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. (That was January, 2022)

 

Why a Judge Ordered FDA to Release Covid-19 Vaccine Data Pronto

 

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/

 

I don't know why anyone would argue against releasing the data that was available at any given time in the process.  In fact, they should be compelling the data, under subpoena if necessary.

 

They are now releasing 55,000 pages a month...their original defence was one of manpower to review and redact.

 

Much of it is now being done by AI I guess or subbed out at the tax payers expense.

26 minutes ago, Purdey said:

A Google search for anti-vaxxers who died of Covid provides lots of examples of people who laughed at those who took jabs and then died miserably in hospitals.

I don't see arguing about vaccine effectiveness with so many deaths achieves much. Scientific data on Covid vaccine effectiveness is still quite high.

 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10385302/

Chart: How Effective Are The Covid-19 Vaccines? | Statista

 

I could post up just as many Google searches for mRNA fans who later died of myocarditis or other known side effects.  And they'd be just as meaningless without diligent statistical analysis.

 

1 minute ago, Will B Good said:

They are now releasing 55,000 pages a month...their original defence was one of manpower to review and redact.

 

Much of it is now being done by AI I guess or subbed out at the tax payers expense.

 

If you were a betting man, which of the documents would you figure they'd release first, and which ones will they hold back until everyone involved has retired or moved on to Big Pharma executive suites?

 

3 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

If you were a betting man, which of the documents would you figure they'd release first, and which ones will they hold back until everyone involved has retired or moved on to Big Pharma executive suites?

 

 

Apparently all the documents (1.2 million pages) related to the Emergency Use Authorisation were released by June 25.......and is being combed through by....Stiddle Mump I imagine.

And here what TRUMP actually posted on September 1st on his Truth Social channel: 

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115128985245605660

 

When the testimony of Dr William Thomson finally arrives into the public domain, there will be mass sackings at the CDC. And hopefully some prosecutions.

 

What a shower of compromised charlatans. Sipping from the dollar gravy-train and at the same pretending to be concerned about the public's health.

 

 

18 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Apparently all the documents (1.2 million pages) related to the Emergency Use Authorisation were released by June 25.......and is being combed through by....Stiddle Mump I imagine.

 

The skeptic in me would bet there's more that they're not releasing.  Like the burn bags full that Tulsi found at the FBI. 

 

But the fact that they got out 1.2 million by June shows how disingenuous they were to claim that they'd needed 75 years to release the data.  And they wonder why they lost the public's trust.  SLSOS.  (SL is "Sorry Lying")

 

A post making an unsubstantiated (hearsay) purported factual claim has been removed.

On 9/2/2025 at 12:58 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Trump calls on drug companies to 'justify the success' of COVID vaccines

September 1, 2025

 

"Amid turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, President Trump on Monday called on pharmaceutical companies to "justify the success" of their COVID vaccines.

 

 

There's literally MOUNTAINS of credible evidence (research, studies, reports etc.) over the past years by independent researchers that COVID vaccines in general, and Pfizer's mRNA COVID vaccine in particular, have saved millions of lives, kept many more millions out of the hospitals, and actually saved countries money by AVOIDING what otherwise would have been COVID patients' collectively huge medical costs.

 

Are they 100% effective? No, no vaccine for anything is 100% effective. But do the current COVID vaccines significantly reduce the risks of death, hospitalization and serious illness from COVID? The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that they do.

 

One good example is the following:

 

 

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

 

However, in this thread, it's Donald Trump asking that the vaccine manufacturers, including Pfizer specifically, provide proof of the benefits of their vaccines, or as Trump said -- "clear up this MESS, one way or the other!" and said he hoped Operation Warp Speed -- a key achievement of his first term -- was "as 'BRILLIANT' as many say it was."

 

Well, as usual, Trump doesn't seem to be paying much attention to the facts because, for example, Pfizer from time to time has produced / published in the public record information on the effectiveness of its vaccine, usually by collaborating with independent researchers at universities and the like.

 

Now, normally, I would NOT post information on those kinds of Pfizer-involved studies here because, of course, the anti-vaxer folks would wail in protest claiming, "Oh, it's NOT credible because look who's involved in the study, Pfizer!"   But, in this case, because it's the president of the U.S. asking, I'll make an exception and give him what he's asking for:

 

VA study: Pfizer COVID booster 68% effective against hospitalization

 

May 2, 2025

 

"A study published earlier this week in Nature Communications using claims data from the US Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System finds protection from the 2024-25 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was 68%, 57%, and 56% against COVID-19–associated hospitalizations, emergency department and urgent care (ED/UC) visits, and outpatient visits, respectively.

...

The study estimated early BNT162b2 KP.2 (2024-25 formulation) vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 outcomes compared to not receiving the vaccine."

 

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/va-study-pfizer-covid-booster-68-effective-against-hospitalization

 

and the original source, published in a prominent, peer-reviewed health journal:

"This test-negative case-control study within the US Veterans Affairs Healthcare System aims to estimate early vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the BNT162b2 KP.2 vaccine (2024–2025 formulation) compared to not receiving the KP.2 vaccine against COVID-19 outcomes. The study includes adult patients (age ≥18 years) with an acute respiratory infection (ARI) in hospital, emergency department and urgent care (ED/UC), or outpatient settings between September 5 and November 30, 2024. ... Among 44,598 ARI episodes, VE is 68% (42–82%), 57% (46–65%), and 56% (36–69%) against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations, emergency department and urgent care visits, and outpatient visits, respectively. Uptake of updated COVID-19 vaccines is low (3.7%)."

 

The study goes on to note:

 

"Over the past several years, COVID-19 vaccines have been key in blunting the public health impact of SARS-CoV-2."

 

"Our study is among the first to present early COVID-19 VE data for the 2024–2025 viral respiratory season. Results suggest that the BNT162b2 KP.2 vaccine provided significant protection against both mild and severe COVID-19 outcomes during the early part of the season."

 

"These current estimates are similar to our estimates of BNT162b2 XBB VE last year against the same outcomes and in the same population during a similar time period (September 25 to November 30, 2023)."

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59344-7

 

Now, for the record, the above journal article clearly identifies that its authors included researchers from the Providence Veterans Affairs Healthcare System and Pfizer, and that Pfizer sponsored the research, though the lead author was from the VA.

 

"This study was conducted as a collaboration between the University of Rhode Island (URI), the V.A. Providence Healthcare System, and Pfizer. Pfizer is the study sponsor."
 

and

 

Peer review information

"Nature Communications thanks Rafael Araos and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. A peer review file is available."

 

There you go Donald, just what you were asking for!

 

Several posts on a topic other than COVID and COVID vaccines have been removed for being off-topic, along with one from a disallowed social media source.

 

 

Trump is back to touting his Covid shot

The president said many think the shots he helped develop are ‘amazing’ a day after senators criticized new restrictions imposed by his health secretary, RFK Jr.

 

09/05/2025

 

"A day after senators of both parties rebuked his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for restricting access to Covid vaccines at a congressional hearing, President Donald Trump praised them, along with some other shots, during an Oval Office event.

 

“A lot of people think that Covid is amazing,” Trump said, referencing the vaccine, not the disease. “You know, there are many people that believe strongly in that.” Trump also said he thought the polio shot was amazing and that “you have to be very careful when you say that some people don’t have to be vaccinated.”

 

Trump was responding to a question from a reporter about Florida officials’ announcement this week that they would be lifting all vaccination requirements in the state, including for schoolchildren.

 

Trump said: “You have vaccines that work. They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all. And I think those vaccines should be used. Otherwise some people are going to catch it and they endanger other people.”

 

(more)

 

Politico

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/05/trump-is-back-to-touting-his-covid-shot-00548433

The Trumpian world is filled with nonsense and doubletalk eternally:

 

In his first term, Trump downplayed and misled about the emerging COVID pandemic. But then, give him credit, he did thru Operation Warp speed provide the federal support that led to the relatively rapid development and deployment of the COVID mRNA vaccines, which saved millions of lives.

 

Now fast forward to his second term, he pursues budget cuts that eviserated funding for the country's key public health agencies, and appointed perhaps the nation's most prominent anti-vaxer and health misinformer, RFK Jr., as his new HHS secretary, and then they both promptly fire the non-partisan, highly respected CDC director they had nominated after a month on the job.

 

Now Trump's talking positively about COVID vaccines, once the vaccine companies respond that the development of the COVID vaccines is deserving of a Nobel prize -- something that Trump desperately wants... Meanwhile, his HHS secretary continues his full-on assault against COVID and various other vaccines.

 

What day of the week is it????  In my book, don't listen to what the guy says... Listen to what he DOES.... That will tell the story.

 

8 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Trump is back to touting his Covid shot

The president said many think the shots he helped develop are ‘amazing’ a day after senators criticized new restrictions imposed by his health secretary, RFK Jr.

 

09/05/2025

 

"A day after senators of both parties rebuked his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for restricting access to Covid vaccines at a congressional hearing, President Donald Trump praised them, along with some other shots, during an Oval Office event.

 

“A lot of people think that Covid is amazing,” Trump said, referencing the vaccine, not the disease. “You know, there are many people that believe strongly in that.” Trump also said he thought the polio shot was amazing and that “you have to be very careful when you say that some people don’t have to be vaccinated.”

 

Trump was responding to a question from a reporter about Florida officials’ announcement this week that they would be lifting all vaccination requirements in the state, including for schoolchildren.

 

Trump said: “You have vaccines that work. They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all. And I think those vaccines should be used. Otherwise some people are going to catch it and they endanger other people.”

 

(more)

 

Politico

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/05/trump-is-back-to-touting-his-covid-shot-00548433

 

Here the part of the Politico article that you conveniently left out: 

> Still, in the immediate aftermath of the Senate hearing Thursday, Trump backed Kennedy, saying his health secretary means well and that he appreciated that Kennedy had a different take on health issues than others.

Trump also didn’t sound alarmed when Kennedy pulled $500 million in funding for research on the mRNA technology that undergirded the Covid shots last month, saying at the time that Operation Warp Speed was “a long time ago and we’re on to other things.”

On Monday, Trump asked drug companies to justify the success of their Covid vaccines with more efficacy data. Moderna, Novavax and Pfizer responded quickly with evidence they said demonstrated the shots saved lives.

Trump also supported Kennedy last week by firing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez. Kennedy had picked Monarez for the job and she’d been in it only a month. Monarez said Kennedy pushed her out because she refused to agree in advance to support changes to vaccine guidance recommended by Kennedy’s handpicked vaccine advisory panel. The CDC director ultimately decides what shots to recommend and to whom.

The forum has rules on quoting of content, limiting the portions that can be quote to several sentences/paragraphs per post. 

 

If I had quoted the full article, the post could have been removed for violating forum rules.

 

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The forum has rules on quoting of content, limiting the portions that can be quote to several sentences/paragraphs per post. 

If I had quoted the full article, the post could have been removed for violating forum rules.

 

TIP > You could have posted the remainder of the article in a comment on your own post.  

Donald Trump the pro-vaxer, at least in words on one day.... the world is getting ready to spin off its axis.

 

Trump said: “You have vaccines that work. They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all. And I think those vaccines should be used. Otherwise some people are going to catch it and they endanger other people.” [emphasis added]

 

(more)

 

Politico

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/05/trump-is-back-to-touting-his-covid-shot-00548433

 

Hold that thought, Donald!